What is Jaylen Brown's ceiling?

[Gomes3PC]

7-9 free throws a game is a lot. Physical dudes like Lebron and Giannas, sure. I always compared Tatum and Brown to prime PG and Butler. Both aren’t getting you 7 pts a game from the line. You can even throw Kawhis name in there.

Butler has lived at the line in his career. And if these guys peak out at Paul George, we need to trade them for a true alpha ASAP, because no team with Paul George as their best guy is winning a title.

Who’s that true alpha we will trade them for? There’s like 3 in the league.

Off court issues aside, Harden easily fits that bill.

[bisme37]

I tend to think we've gotten too caught up in what Jaylen can't do rather than appreciating what he can do.

He can't dance around with the ball like JT or Kemba. But that doesn't stop him from putting points on the board at a high rate and very efficiently.

And I'm still impressed by the number he did on All-NBA 2nd teamer Siakam in the playoffs a few months ago.

He is a legit two-way star, a winner, and only getting better.

Go Jaylen.

[Edug27]

Butler has lived at the line in his career. And if these guys peak out at Paul George, we need to trade them for a true alpha ASAP, because no team with Paul George as their best guy is winning a title.

Who’s that true alpha we will trade them for? There’s like 3 in the league.

Off court issues aside, Harden easily fits that bill.

Well, to be fair, Paul George has taken a team where he’s been the best player just as far in the playoffs as Harden has.

[syntax]

As his usage rises and he isn't as much of a slasher, his 3s will fade because they were 88% assisted.

Tatum's 3s are only around 40% assisted for comparison, he can create his own.

[Fencer reregistered]

As his usage rises and he isn't as much of a slasher, his 3s will fade because they were 88% assisted.

Tatum's 3s are only around 40% assisted for comparison, he can create his own.

This is an odd time to make an argument that assumes Jaylen will never grow into a successful PnR ball-handler.

[BostonCouchGM]

Loved his first half. He was making plays like it was his intention instead of last resort. That's BBIQ and something I really didn't think would improve that much. First half Jaylen is absolutely capable of being an all-star. He's really struggled defensively and he was incapable of duplicating his first half performance so I won't get ahead of myself but I'm very encouraged. I've been asking Brad to get him the ball off movement and to take advantage of his mismatches (which he will have in some form or fashion on almost every play) since he was drafted. With Hayward gone and Kemba out it's like Brad is forced to finally do it and we're seeing Jaylen is up to the task. I want to see more of this and more consistently before I fully eat crow but 1st half was the best I've seen Jaylen play on offense imo. I jumped out of my chair on that move against KD and that's literally the first time I've done that in Jaylen's career.

[syntax]

As his usage rises and he isn't as much of a slasher, his 3s will fade because they were 88% assisted.

Tatum's 3s are only around 40% assisted for comparison, he can create his own.

This is an odd time to make an argument that assumes Jaylen will never grow into a successful PnR ball-handler.

All I mean't was if he's not in the corners to hit the 3s like he had been, his 3pt volume may drop. His 3s for this season have all been catch and shoot.

I'm sure he'll be fine in a pnr.

[Floody100]

His 3 assists were encouraging. All three times he waiting till the defence collapsed & found the open man. He couldn’t do that last season.

[Gomes3PC]

His vision has meaningfully improved. Had a really nice pair of passes when he was posting up for easy kick out threes.

SSS but his assist rate is up 100% y/y. Even if that reverts back a fair bit, him going from <10% assist rate to 15%+ would be huge for this team.

Also of importance is he has gotten to the line. He's been a better player all around in these first two games despite not hitting threes at a good clip.

[Triple7]

Oh boy! We have a SYNTAX infestation . Everything about Jaylen and you are there lol.

[Bill Bradley]

Jaylen consistently playing with force and aggression is what I’ve been waiting for. I’m encouraged with what I’m seeing so far. Hopefully this continues even when Kemba comes back and he stays aggressive. More than Tatum, Brown has a tendency to become passive and defer to other stars on the team.

[24istheLAW]

His vision has meaningfully improved. Had a really nice pair of passes when he was posting up for easy kick out threes.

SSS but his assist rate is up 100% y/y. Even if that reverts back a fair bit, him going from <10% assist rate to 15%+ would be huge for this team.

Also of importance is he has gotten to the line. He's been a better player all around in these first two games despite not hitting threes at a good clip.

I think at least offensively, we're seeing Jaylen meet the "Jimmy Butler" comparison. Jaylen will never be a point anything. But like Butler, Jaylen can become good at consistently making simple plays as a scorer.

[Gomes3PC]

His vision has meaningfully improved. Had a really nice pair of passes when he was posting up for easy kick out threes.

SSS but his assist rate is up 100% y/y. Even if that reverts back a fair bit, him going from <10% assist rate to 15%+ would be huge for this team.

Also of importance is he has gotten to the line. He's been a better player all around in these first two games despite not hitting threes at a good clip.

I think at least offensively, we're seeing Jaylen meet the "Jimmy Butler" comparison. Jaylen will never be a point anything. But like Butler, Jaylen can become good at consistently making simple plays as a scorer.

Taking parts of Jimmy's game would be great for Juice. They have physical parallels, but Jaylen has historically lacked feel and vision. Refining that would go a long way to a path to a higher ceiling for this current core.

[Fencer reregistered]

Some crunch as to how Jaylen's role has changed.

https://www.celticsblog.com/2020/12/27/22200542/jaylen-brown-reaching-for-higher-level-boston-celtics-jayson-tatum

Again, it's only two games, but in some short quotes he is suggesting the changes are not an aberration.

[Jaqua92]

Definetely a better offensive Jimmy Butler with worse offense.

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[BostonCouchGM]

well, at least he had that one encouraging first half. I'm not ever impressed by his scoring against scrubs or mismatches because that's expected from him at this point. Pretty much any starting SG should be able to do that. What he needs to take his game to the next level and become an all-star is to make plays for others on a consistent basis but also play great defense while doing so. Unfortunately with his offensive explosion his defense has suffered. You'll know Jaylen has arrived when he's the one getting the ball at the end of games and asked to get it done. That type of player is what I have always felt he needed to be to become an all-star and that seems far fetched to me. He has to consistently play like he did last game's first half instead of it being an anomaly. This board is seemingly convinced he's already that guy or well on his way which is why it's so triggered when anyone suggests he clearly isn't and thus far is just a glorified 3 and D.

[BK_2020]

Definetely a better offensive Jimmy Butler with worse offense.

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Lol no, Jimmy is one of the most gifted perimeter players ever at foul-baiting and gets to the line almost twice as often as Jaylen. Jimmy is a guy you can give him the ball in crunchtime and he will get two points. Jaylen is someone you give the ball to in crunchtime and he tries to dribble-ISO someone 15 feet from the basket and ends up looking like he's dancing in place before bricking.

[KingofTheClay]

A mentally tough Paul George with somewhat less talent.

So maybe worse in the regular season but is a top tier player when it matters most.

[keevsnick1]

Definetely a better offensive Jimmy Butler with worse offense.

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Lol no, Jimmy is one of the most gifted perimeter players ever at foul-baiting and gets to the line almost twice as often as Jaylen. Jimmy is a guy you can give him the ball in crunchtime and he will get two points. Jaylen is someone you give the ball to in crunchtime and he tries to dribble-ISO someone 15 feet from the basket and ends up looking like he's dancing in place before bricking.

Well to be fair Jaylen is a WAY better shooter than butler is, 37% from 3 vs 33.3% career for Jimmy Butler. Also at the age Jaylen currently is jimmy Butler was averaging 13 points per game on 40% shooting from the field.

Promising start for Jaylen. 26 points per game, a TS% of 57% and a assist percentage of 19.5% (up from 9.7% last year). 11 assists to only 4 turnovers thus far. A usage of 30%. Very small sample, too soon to say way is/isnt real, but promising.

[Gomes3PC]

I don't think Jaylen will ever be able to get to the line at the elite rate Butler does, so he really needs to be a better shooter to impact the game at a similar level. If Jay is a 38-40% 3PT shooter in his prime, that would offset the FT disparity, but just as importantly he needs to keep developing that playmaking instinct. It's coming along this year, as it is clear his assist rate is up while ALSO keeping his turnover rate at an elite level. Jimmy didn't get his assist rate up over 20% like Jaylen is currently at until his 5th year in the league at age 26 (yes, SSS of 3 games, but still). If Jaylen keeps making steady progress there, he will push himself into becoming a top 15-25 player in the league.

Jaylen has improved basically every year he has been on the floor. He's a hard worker, he's stayed healthy, and his athletic abilities are nearly second to none. I won't doubt he still has plenty of room left to grow.