NBA analyst says Jaylen Brown has proven ‘what his ceiling really is’ originally appeared on NESN. Click here to add NESN as your preferred source.
For most of Jaylen Brown’s career, he failed to reach his full potential. He has to share the ball with Jayson Tatum and be his running mate, which limits his ability to make plays and prove what he’s truly capable of.
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This year, he finally got that chance. Brown finally got a chance to lead the Boston Celtics after they cleared out last offseason while Tatum missed most of the season.
So far, he’s gotten the job done, playing the best basketball of his career and becoming an MVP candidate.
Not only did his numbers improve, but he led Boston to second place in the Eastern Conference, proving he could single-handedly lead a championship contender.
Seeing Brown’s level of play improve this season has impressed many NBA observers, including ESPN NBA analyst Timothy Legler.
“When he got the opportunity, he rang a bell. He basically showed everyone what his real ceiling was… like the top guy on the team,” Legler said Thursday on “The Bill Simmons Podcast.” “He showed you what he’s capable of. With the same level of defense, he’s basically averaging 30 points a game, career highs in a lot of different areas.”
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More importantly, Brown helped the Celtics remain one of the best teams in basketball despite losing Tatum, Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holiday, Al Horford and Luke Kornet. Boston looks like a fringe playoff team this year, but Brown has helped them stay within striking distance of the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference.
“If he doesn’t play the way he plays, they’re nowhere near the No. 2 seed,” Legler added. “Some part of him probably felt incredibly validated. I got a chance to see who I was.”
Brown proved that again on Thursday without Tatum, going head-to-head with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and nearly leading the short-handed Celtics to an upset win on the road against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
If he can maintain this level throughout the playoffs, Boston could be in a good position to make a deep playoff run, especially if Tatum is back in shape by then.
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