LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLORIDA – AUGUST 02: Jaylen Brown #7 of the Boston Celtics dunks against the Portland Trail Blazers at The Arena at ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on August 02, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
Jaylen Brown is continuing a great season in the NBA bubble.
The Boston Celtics are a legitimate contender in the Eastern Conference and picked up a clutch victory Sunday over the Portland Trail Blazers. Jayson Tatum led the team in scoring with 34 points, while Jaylen Brown was right behind him with 30 of his own.
Brown was the No. 3 overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft and Tatum went in the same slot one year later. Both are playing up to their potential at the same time this season, and the emergence of Brown has been a pleasant surprise for Celtics fans who may have wondered if he would ever take off. Brown was a force all season and has continued his great play in Orlando.
Jaylen Brown shows up this season
Brown had a slow start to his career and Celtics fans may have already made up their minds on him after he averaged only 6.6 points per game in his rookie season. That total rose to 14.5 his second season, only to go back down to 13.0 in 2018-19.
This year, his game finally came together.
Brown has set new career-highs in points, rebounds, assists, 3-point shooting, minutes … the list goes on and on. His 20.5 points per game this season are only behind Kemba Walker and Tatum on the team leaderboards. Brown’s 34 minutes per game are also second behind Tatum, showing the trust head coach Brad Stevens has in both players.
Entering the bubble after a four-month layoff could have meant certain players who were playing great all season lost the momentum they had. That has not been true for Brown.
He played in 34 minutes Friday night against the Milwaukee Bucks and scored 22 points in a losing effort, but he did drill three 3-pointers and held his own against arguably the best team in basketball. This was also the first game that counted since March and he exceeded his season average in points.
If Friday night was the warmup, Sunday was the continued breakout in what’s been a borderline All-Star season. Brown scored the aforementioned 30 points against the Blazers and went 6-for-8 from 3-point range. He also added six rebounds and two steals in 37 minutes of play.
Brown last scored at least 30 points in a game on Feb. 1 against the Philadelphia 76ers. He went for 32 that night on 13-of-23 shooting with only one made 3-point shot.
The extra time off has clearly been great for the 2016 No. 3 overall pick. Fans who gave up on him now see he’s still only 23 years old and joined the Celtics after only one year in college. The team had a plan in place and it appears they hit the jackpot with their picks, with the only misstep being trying to make things work with Kyrie Irving.
The Celtics are easily one of the deeper teams in the East and should be able to hold onto that third overall seed in the conference. Brown playing the way he is now adds a new angle to a team already featuring Walker and Tatum. And don’t forget about Gordon Hayward, who has faded to the background a bit thanks to the great play from the homegrown stars.