Since being drafted as the third overall pick in the first round of the 2016 NBA draft, Jaylen Brown, the Boston Celtics’ shooting guard, has achieved numerous accolades. The recent Boston Celtics’ devastating elimination from the inaugural in-season tournament, has sparked concerns over Brown’s contribution to the team.
Amidst facing intense criticism for his on-court performance with the team, Jaylen Brown, the guard, responded vehemently and took the opportunity to assess and defend his contributions.
Jaylen Brown responds to criticism
The Boston Celtics fell 112-122 recently to the Indiana Pacers, in the inaugural in-season quarterfinals. Following the defeat, the basketball world was swift with their takes. The discussion waxed stronger owing to the Boston Celtics currently being the top seed in the Eastern Conference, with an impressive 15-5 record.
After the Boston Celtics’ defeat, ESPN swiftly posted a graphic that showed the Celtics’ star, Jaylen Brown, had shot the ball 43 times in his past two games, but without registering a single assist. The ESPN’s post on X had the caption “Jaylen Brown has been gettin’ ’em up the last two games.” In response to ESPN’s post, Jaylen Brown furiously said, “Ya’ll corny watch the game.”
It’s unclear whether Jaylen Brown’s discontent was directed at ESPN’s attempt to convey a casual tone in the caption, or if he found the graphic misleading. Nevertheless, in the Boston Celtics’ recent win against the Philadelphia 76ers, Brown shot 8 for 20, and in the loss against the Indiana Pacers, he went 14 for 23. Interestingly, in 19 games this campaign, Jaylen Brown is averaging 22.2 points and 3.2 assists per outing, which is quite commendable.
Brown assesses his ball game
In the new season, Jaylen Brown is off to an impressive early start, a sentiment he explicitly conveyed in his latest comments, including a direct response to NBA fans who often criticize his on-court work rate. Brown stated, “I feel like on both sides of the ball, I’m playing the best basketball of my life,” as reported by The Athletic.
Jaylen Brown, making a bold statement as such, has evoked the fans’ desire to search up his statistics year after year. Unfortunately, unknown to Brown, fans would dig up his previous and current outputs, especially his averaging fewer points (26.2 Vs 22.2), rebounds (16.9 Vs 5.2), and assists (3.5 Vs 3.2) this current campaign compared to last season.
Adding to his challenges, Brown’s field goal percentage is currently at 45.9%, just half a percent higher than his career-low during his rookie year in 2016-2017. Additionally, despite ranking 142nd in the league’s defensive rating, he holds the 13th position in defensive win shares this year.
However, questions have arisen about his offensive performance, prompting heavy criticism from fans after his recent bold comments. While Brown continues to receive heavy criticism for his recent comments, the star guard could decide to step up his game, which could propel the Boston Celtics to maintain their top-seed ranking in the Eastern Conference.
