CelticsBlog Player of the Week #6: Jaylen Brown

Thanksgiving week is behind us, and if there’s one factor I’m positive we are able to all be glad about, it’s an ideal report for the Boston Celtics. One other unblemished week on the workplace has pushed Boston’s league-best report to a sterling 16-4, and their 3-0 report got here on the expense of powerful competitors from unlikely locations. Dallas’ Luka Dončić is all the time a formidable foe, however matchups towards the Sacramento Kings (stunningly, the second-best offense in basketball at current) and a cohesive Washington Wizards squad (firmly within the low-end Jap Convention playoff combine) supplied a more durable problem than their reputations would possibly recommend.

Nonetheless, as we’ve develop into accustomed to seeing, these Celtics trampled via all three groups. As all the time, meaning we’ve received a call to make: who was this week’s Participant of the Week?

Honorable Mentions:

Jayson Tatum’s sprained ankle giveth and taketh away this week, as a pair of explosive performances at lower than 100% (37-13-5 vs Dallas, 30-8-4 vs Sacramento) majorly impressed, but in addition led to a day of relaxation within the week’s finale towards Washington. He’ll must accept his team-high in Participant of the Week awards to stay at two in the intervening time.

Past that, shout-out to Al Horford, who appears to be perpetually hovering round this award. After a brutal 0-for-9 efficiency within the loss to Chicago the week prior, Horford responded with per week the place he shot 76% from the sector and 90% from the three-point line. Derrick White additionally constructed on final week’s Participant of the Week win with three extra double-digit scoring performances, sustaining his thrilling begin to the season on the offensive finish.

All that thought-about, it’s time for the Celtics’ second star to get his time within the highlight.

Picture by Omar Rawlings/Getty Photos

CelticsBlog Participant of the Week #6: Jaylen Brown

3 GP, 32 MPG, 30.7 PPG, 61.4% FG, 35.7% 3PT, 4.7 RPG, 3.3 APG, +45

That’s proper, he’s lastly right here — that is Jaylen Brown’s Participant of the Week debut for the 2022-23 season. It’s an overdue look, to say the least. Brown is within the midst of a career-best season, setting new high-watermarks in scoring (26.1 PPG) and effectivity (60.1% TS) on the very best utilization (30.9%) of his NBA profession.

Essentially the most eye-popping facet of Brown’s large yr has been his success contained in the arc. He’s all the time been a dynamic menace attacking the basket, with a steadily rising toolbox of counters within the midrange, however his 59% capturing mark from two-point vary is subsequent degree by his requirements, outpacing his second-best yr by almost 5 ticks. Brown is capturing a scorching 73% on the rim and connecting on higher than 55% of his makes an attempt from the mid-range. He’s additionally attending to the free throw line extra usually than ever (career-high 5 FTA per recreation) and cashing in on these freebies higher than 80% of the time for the primary time in his profession.

The week started with Dončić and the Mavericks, a recreation that Brown mentioned the Celtics had circled on their calendar. Previous to the sport, Dončić mentioned the Celtics “in all probability have the perfect duo within the league” — excessive reward that Boston’s younger stars actually lived as much as that night. It was a type of magical video games the place each of the Jays had it going on the identical time; they mixed for 68 factors, and Dončić’s 42-point outing wasn’t sufficient to maintain up.

From a person perspective, Brown’s most notable efficiency got here a number of days later, towards a not-as-bad-as-you-might-think Washington Wizards group on Sunday. Taking part in alongside Tatum — sturdy minutes-accumulator that he’s — hasn’t afforded Brown too many probabilities to function because the true high possibility within the Celtics offense. In opposition to the Wizards, that chance arose; Tatum sat out after logging consecutive video games on his sprained ankle, and Brown was tasked with selecting up the slack.

The outcome? Recreation-highs in each scoring (36 factors, his season excessive to date) and plus-minus (+26). Brown seized this recreation by the reigns. Tasked with spearheading the Boston offense, he tried 23 photographs on an evening the place just one different Celtics even put up double-digits (Malcolm Brogdon, 5-of-10). Although his three-point shot wasn’t all there — he knocked down simply two of seven three-point makes an attempt — he went 11-of-16 from contained in the arc and an ideal 8-of-8 from the free throw line.

Nearly all the pieces we’ve mentioned right here was on show. It was a formidable efficiency at a priceless time, protecting the Celtics on monitor within the absence of his All-NBA teammate.

This subsequent week might be a busier one, because the Celtics have 4 video games on the docket. The week started with Monday’s blowout win over the Charlotte Hornets, and so they’ll observe that recreation with a pair of house contests towards the Miami Heat on Wednesday and Friday, earlier than a visit to Brooklyn to face off with the Nets on Sunday. Who will step up and earn their time within the highlight right here subsequent week? Pontificate within the feedback together with your predictions.