What more can Jaylen Brown do? C’s star needs help from supporting cast originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Maybe the only thing that Jaylen Brown has done more consistently than churning out 30+ point games this season has been going to the podium after losses and taking blame for Boston coming up short.
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On Monday night, after a late charge fizzled against the East-leading Detroit Pistons, Brown declared that he needed to do more. Instead of putting the spotlight on all that he did — including posting team highs in minutes (40:29), points (34), rebounds (eight), and assists (seven) — he fretted missed free throws, an untimely turnover, and an undisciplined late-game foul.
The reality is that Brown is giving Boston a chance each night with play that has thrust him into the MVP conversation.
With Monday’s output, he has now scored 30+ points in eight of Boston’ last nine games. In the only game he failed to reach that mark, he produced a triple-double in a win over Cleveland. Brown has reached 30+ points in five straight games and 15 times overall in Boston’s first 26 games to remain tied with John Havlicek for the team record for most 30+ point games to start a season.
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But when you dig beyond the base stat line, Brown’s attempts to keep Boston afloat Monday night are even more jarring. Here are the many ways Brown impacted Monday’s game:
Driving force
Brown drove a staggering 29 times against the Pistons, generating 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting. He also got fouled three times and created three assists off those drives.
Brown is generating 12.3 points per game off drives this season, which ranks second in the NBA behind only reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (13.8). Still, those 29 drives were well above his season average of 16.8 drives per game. The rest of Boston’s roster generated 20 drives total (though they did generate 24 points on 11-of-14 shooting off those drives).
Creating his own offense
Brown generated 15 points on pull-up shots while connecting on 7 of his 10 attempts, many of which came in his beloved midrange sweets pot.
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Derrick White added 13 pull-up points on 5-of-10 shooting, many of which came during Boston’s late-game rally. The rest of the Celtics generated eight points on 4-of-10 shooting in pull-up scenarios.
Basically, no one beyond Brown and White could consistently generate their own shot on a night when the Celtics were ice cold on catch-and-shoot opportunities.
To underscore Boston’s catch-and-shoot woes: The Celtics average 31.7 catch-and-shoot points per game while shooting 36.9 percent overall, and 37 percent on 3-point shots with 29 total catch-and-shoot attempts per game. On Monday, the Celtics generated 18 catch-and-shoot points while shooting 22.2 percent overall, and 25 percent on 3s with 27 total catch-and-shoot attempts.
Creating offense for others
Brown still generated 17 assist points on a team-high seven assists. He had 11 potential assists. All of those numbers were well above his season averages of 4.8 assists per game, 13 assist points per game and 9.4 potential assists per game.
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Locked in on defense
Brown posted the best defensive field goal percentage among Boston players Monday night, limiting the Pistons to 3-of-11 shooting with three blocks when he was the primary defender.
What’s more, Brown generated a team-high five contested rebounds, often sparring with Detroit big man Isaiah Stewart under the basket for a size-deprived Boston team.
Yes, Brown missed seven of his 14 free throw attempts, diminishing another strong night of getting to the stripe (six straight games with nine or more free throw attempts). Yes, he would love to have back a fourth-quarter pass that Cade Cunningham deflected for a steal and led to free throws at the other end. Yes, Brown bit on a Tobias Harris pump fake and committed a shooting foul after Boston crawled to within two with 2:24 to play.
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But the Celtics would not even have been in position to compete at the finish line without the efforts of Brown, who barely left the court in the second half.
The truth is, the Celtics need more from everybody else.
Jordan Walsh got a tough whistle and early foul trouble basically neutralized him for the game. Payton Pritchard started fast then fizzled late, potentially hindered by neck spasms. Rookie Hugo Gonzalez gave the team much-needed energy in the first half when Walsh went out, then had an agonizing sequence late in the third frame that included a turnover which led to easy points.
Josh Minott was minus-11 and rarely impacted the game in 13 minutes. Sam Hauser limped off with an ankle injury in the first half. Boston’s bench generated just 14 points in nearly 75 minutes of total floor time.
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Brown doesn’t need to ask his teammates for more. He’s being a good leader while putting the pressure on himself. Brown’s teammates ought to want to do more for that reason alone.
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