Jaylen Brown re-signs for 4 years/$115 million

[TripleOT]

He’s shooting ~75% from the line this season. If he can get that to 80%+ he’s pretty much unstoppable.

Brown looks real comfortable and confident at the line lately. He's over 80% for the month, after shooting 71.6% the first two months. For the season, he's 76 for 101 overall, 75.2%.

December splits in 10 games: 22.4 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 3 apg on 57/43/81% shooting. Brown has pushed his scoring average over 20 ppg, giving the Cs three 20 ppg scorers, with Hayward right behind at 17.4.

 

[HomeRunBaker]

A strong step today towards eventually being as good as Trevor Ariza, or maybe, if we're lucky, Jimmy Butler at age 23.

Yup, like I said in that thread and the bold prediction thread......you're going to see Jaylen considered our best young player and an All-Star this year based on his continued growth since his rookie year. So high on this kid!

 

[Light-Tower-Power]

I’m not sure I follow here? He shoots 4 FT a game right now, so going from 75% to 85% is worth a little more than 30 points over the course of a season...

Sure, but if he can consistently shoot at a high percentage from the line hopefully he will look to draw contact and get to the line more.

 

[benhogan]

Yup, like I said in that thread and the bold prediction thread......you're going to see Jaylen considered our best young player and an All-Star this year based on his continued growth since his rookie year. So high on this kid!

your Bold Prediction thread post is some of your best work...

You pretty much nailed about 9 out of 10 teams (except Orlando if I recall correctly)

 

[HomeRunBaker]

your Bold Prediction thread post is some of your best work...

You pretty much nailed about 9 out of 10 teams (except Orlando if I recall correctly)

Appreciate it. I'm a Markelle Fultz relapse and one opioid death away from sweeping the board lol.

 

[NomarsFool]

The one thing I'd like to see a bit more of from Jaylen, is that it seems like sometimes you can forget he's in the game for stretches. That rarely seems to be the case for Tatum. Maybe he handles the ball more, I'm not sure what it is, but it always seems like Tatum is involved in the offense (once in awhile, unfortunately so - if his shot is not falling). Jaylen seems to have the ability to take over for stretches on offense, just like Tatum does, but it seems like the team forgets about him sometimes - or if he's not enforcing his will on the team, like Tatum does. This Celtics team is amazing when they are distributing the opportunities amongst their 4 top scorers. I'd like to see JB and GH get a few more shots up. Those guys are just playing incredible efficient basketball right now.

 

[TripleOT]

1.37 points per shot for Brown, on 14.6 shots. 1.15 for Tatum on 18.9 shots, 1.31 for Kemba on 17.2 shots, 1.33 for Hayward on only 13.1 shots. I'd too would like to see GH and JB get another shot or two up each game.

 

[benhogan]

The one thing I'd like to see a bit more of from Jaylen, is that it seems like sometimes you can forget he's in the game for stretches. That rarely seems to be the case for Tatum. Maybe he handles the ball more, I'm not sure what it is, but it always seems like Tatum is involved in the offense (once in awhile, unfortunately so - if his shot is not falling). Jaylen seems to have the ability to take over for stretches on offense, just like Tatum does, but it seems like the team forgets about him sometimes - or if he's not enforcing his will on the team, like Tatum does. This Celtics team is amazing when they are distributing the opportunities amongst their 4 top scorers. I'd like to see JB and GH get a few more shots up. Those guys are just playing incredible efficient basketball right now.

agree with all of this...

ugh, Tatum's "Kobesque" and "inner Duke-ego" when he goes into his pound the ball/solo routine is flat out bad basketball. Some will say this is development, but I don't want him working like that when he has so much talent around him.

Today he took a braindead 25' step-back 3 with 10 seconds left on the clock at the end of Q1. Completely unacceptable.

Brown was doing things like this the first 8 weeks last season, then the switch went off and he's let the game come to him since.

I expect maturity solves the JT/Kobe crap.

 

[TripleOT]

JT has been a lot less Kobe-fied this season. Today, it looked like he was pressing to put on a show. He was 1-9 outside the paint, missing all six his Kobe-favored long 2s, and 1.3 behind the arc. JT was only 4-9 inside the paint, and didn't get to the line once.

He got nine rebounds, including four offensive ones early, six assists, two steals, some good defense, and a +21.

 

[benhogan]

JT has been a lot less Kobe-fied this season. Today, it looked like he was pressing to put on a show. He was 1-9 outside the paint, missing all six his Kobe-favored long 2s, and 1.3 behind the arc. JT was only 4-9 inside the paint, and didn't get to the line once.

He got nine rebounds, including four offensive ones early, six assists, two steals, some good defense, and a +21.

don't get me wrong I like JT

AND all his Kobe stuff gets washed away with his excellent ++ defense....BUT once he stops the ball pounding stuff, he'll be a top 20 player.

In 2yrs (with more muscle/experience) he'll be a top 10 player (along with JB) IMO

 

[Jimbodandy]

Brown is letting the game come to him, and that's a good thing. As he continues to improve his skill set, more shots will happen in the flow of the game.

JT is still learning and will force sometimes. He's learning where the guardrails are.

Mathematically it makes more sense to -2 JTs shots and +2 JBs, but that's not how it works. I doubt that Brad really wants to change much of anything. Both guys are on great arcs, even if it's more obvious with one guy or the other.

 

[lovegtm]

Brown is letting the game come to him, and that's a good thing. As he continues to improve his skill set, more shots will happen in the flow of the game.

JT is still learning and will force sometimes. He's learning where the guardrails are.

Mathematically it makes more sense to -2 JTs shots and +2 JBs, but that's not how it works. I doubt that Brad really wants to change much of anything. Both guys are on great arcs, even if it's more obvious with one guy or the other.

Normally I 120% agree that the “take shots away from X and give them to Y” stuff is stupid. However, in the case of Tatum and Brown, Brown simply doesn’t get the same number of primary creation opportunities, even though he’s done well in that role outside of a few matchups. I’d like to see them force-feed him a bit in those spots, the way they've done with Tatum his whole career.

 

[Eddie Jurak]

Compared with Tatum, Brown is more than a year older and has one season more of NBA experience. One would expect him to be further along, which he is. I don't get the negative takes on Tatum that point to Brown's year 4 progress.

 

[lovegtm]

Compared with Tatum, Brown is more than a year older and has one season more of NBA experience. One would expect him to be further along, which he is. I don't get the negative takes on Tatum that point to Brown's year 4 progress.

If it sounds negative, that’s a mistake in tone on my part. I just think that Brown could do well being a little bit more force-fed the way Tatum has been, even if it initially leads to a drop in efficiency.

 

[tims4wins]

I bet if they force fed JB a couple more times and took away a couple of JT shots we’d have the same criticisms of JB that we do of JT.

Also, there is likely a reason they want JT taking more shots - they want / believe he can be the alpha.

 

[lovegtm]

I bet if they force fed JB a couple more times and took away a couple of JT shots we’d have the same criticisms of JB that we do of JT.

Also, there is likely a reason they want JT taking more shots - they want / believe he can be the alpha.

Disagree—we saw JB yesterday creating the same late-clock mid-rangers that Tatum tries, just with better separation and touch.

I LOVE Tatum and am high on him, but the fact that Brown has better touch is pretty obvious when watching.

 

[wade boggs chicken dinner]

The one thing I'd like to see a bit more of from Jaylen, is that it seems like sometimes you can forget he's in the game for stretches. That rarely seems to be the case for Tatum. Maybe he handles the ball more, I'm not sure what it is, but it always seems like Tatum is involved in the offense (once in awhile, unfortunately so - if his shot is not falling). Jaylen seems to have the ability to take over for stretches on offense, just like Tatum does, but it seems like the team forgets about him sometimes - or if he's not enforcing his will on the team, like Tatum does. This Celtics team is amazing when they are distributing the opportunities amongst their 4 top scorers. I'd like to see JB and GH get a few more shots up. Those guys are just playing incredible efficient basketball right now.

JB gets lost sometimes because he's not running the top of the key PnR (Cs have JT, KW, GH, and even BW do most of that). It's pretty amazing that JB's numbers are where they are given that except for FBs, he doesn't IMO touch the ball early in the shot clock.

I wondering when/if Brad is going to let JB run PnR. There are some possibilities there.

BTW, looking at NBA.com's touches stats are interesting as well.

 

[JohnnyTheBone]

This contract is going to be viewed as a steal by Christmas, IMO.

The verdict is in: Steal

Kudos to Death for a definitive take that is aging like fine wine.

 

[Jimbodandy]

Lots of good posts on this page. What I meant by mine is that we don't have anything fucking up the offense right now, so I think that the actions being run are the ones that CBS wants to be run.

We don't have last year's walk year bullshit and chemistry/ego problems. And aside from a few brushes with PG traps that we seem to be past, we're not starting sets with diminished shot clock or the lack of creative ability that the IT4 teams sometimes went through. Ergo, the breakdown of actions is pretty much where DA and CBS want them, and that balance has some percentage towards development.

Investing a few slightly less efficient touches for JT are part of the plan, because nothing is stopping this team from doing something different.

 

[lovegtm]

Lots of good posts on this page. What I meant by mine is that we don't have anything fucking up the offense right now, so I think that the actions being run are the ones that CBS wants to be run.

We don't have last year's walk year bullshit and chemistry/ego problems. And aside from a few brushes with PG traps that we seem to be past, we're not starting sets with diminished shot clock or the lack of creative ability that the IT4 teams sometimes went through. Ergo, the breakdown of actions is pretty much where DA and CBS want them, and that balance has some percentage towards development.

Investing a few slightly less efficient touches for JT are part of the plan, because nothing is stopping this team from doing something different.

Worth noting that the PG traps stopped really being a problem once JT and JB got more reps. With Hayward back, they’re an actively bad strategy now imo. Good stuff.

 

[Sam Ray Not]

1.37 points per shot for Brown, on 14.6 shots. 1.15 for Tatum on 18.9 shots, 1.31 for Kemba on 17.2 shots, 1.33 for Hayward on only 13.1 shots. I'd too would like to see GH and JB get another shot or two up each game.

Vaguely OT: is there any reason to use “points per shot” — which ignores the fact that free throws take up possessions — as opposed to TS%, a more accurate measure of how efficiently you use your possessions? (Basically, double TS to get points per possession).

In the case of Brown/Tatum/Kemba it doesn’t really matter, since they all get to the line at pretty similar rates (5.2, 4.1, 4.3 fta per 36, respectively) but imo “points per shot” gives needless errors with players with more divergent ft rates, assuming our goal is to measure and compare their scoring efficiencies.

On topic: as a Cal guy, I’m stoked about Jaylen’s development, in pretty much every area. He’s so smooth, confident and efficient with his movements and shot now; the contrast with his Cal days and rookie season is really striking.

 

[TripleOT]

Vaguely OT: is there any reason to use “points per shot” — which ignores the fact that free throws take up possessions — as opposed to TS%, a more accurate measure of how efficiently you use your possessions? (Basically, double TS to get points per possession).

In the case of Brown/Tatum/Kemba it doesn’t really matter, since they all get to the line at pretty similar rates (5.2, 4.1, 4.3 fta per 36, respectively) but imo “points per shot” gives needless errors with players with more divergent ft rates, assuming our goal is to measure and compare their scoring efficiencies.

On topic: as a Cal guy, I’m stoked about Jaylen’s development, in pretty much every area. He’s so smooth, confident and efficient with his movements and shot now; the contrast with his Cal days and rookie season is really striking.

I'm old school

 

[mcpickl]

well that aged poorly

MP was the most ardent of Baynes supporters last season so I have a soft spot for him

You and WBCD deserve your props

If you have a soft spot for me, could you please quit misconstruing what I said.

JFC I hate this board sometimes.

 

[benhogan]

nm

 

[DeJesus Built My Hotrod]

In 10 December games, Brown has averaged a season high 22.4 ppg on .558/.429/.786 shooting for a TS% of .677. Some of his shooting success is almost certainly unsustainable but it is remarkable that his USG aslo went up during this period given Hayward and Smarf's absences. He also averaged a career high in assists as well.

From what I can see, the only top line stats where Brown saw declines was a slight decrease in boards which may just be noise or a function of his role changing with the aforementioned injuries.

The key takeaway here is that Brown's continued emergence makes a fully healthy Celtics squad a matchup nightmare for opposing defenses and gives Stevens a wealth of options that few other teams currently have.

In the NBA gamethread, there is some discussion - which I largely agree with - that the Clippers have an optimal roster starting with two elite two way wings in Leonard and George. Its getting easier to see the Celtics with a younger, pretty good facsimile with Tatum and Brown.

Finally, its not hard to see further improvement given his athleticism as well as what appears to be a pretty cerebral approach to just about everything. I would not be surprised if he continues to post even better numbers going forward.

 

[amarshal2]

I didn't bring Ariza up, and didn't go in that direction at all. In fact, I have said your post was taken out of context by others at the time.

BUT since I see Jaylen Brown getting All-Star consideration I don't believe the post "aged well".

He's more than a high-level role player and see him as top 3 player on a title contender by next season IMO

You're completely right. Is there a title contender on which Jaylen Brown wouldn't be at least the 3rd best player on the team this year?

Lakers -- 3rd
Bucks -- 2nd or 3rd
Rockets -- 2nd. Don't @ me.
Denver -- 2nd.
Sixers -- 2nd. Don't @ me.
Raptors -- 2nd or 3rd.

 

[DeJesus Built My Hotrod]

Its worth noting that, while I believe Jaylen Brown's leap is real and sustainable, we are still operating with a relatively small sample size.

More to the point, if someone claimed they saw this coming, kudos to them but there are likely biases at work in making that call - at least amongst the Celtics fans in that group. On the other hand, unearthing posts of others who speculated a range of outcomes (which is the way most smart predictions are made) and misconstruing it as a precise call is bad form imo. And citing those who may have misfired on their call and running victory laps around them is kind of a dick move, especially when things are still playing out and the post and/or the poster isn't prone to hot takes. YRMV.

 

[mauf]

Vaguely OT: is there any reason to use “points per shot” — which ignores the fact that free throws take up possessions — as opposed to TS%, a more accurate measure of how efficiently you use your possessions? (Basically, double TS to get points per possession).

In the case of Brown/Tatum/Kemba it doesn’t really matter, since they all get to the line at pretty similar rates (5.2, 4.1, 4.3 fta per 36, respectively) but imo “points per shot” gives needless errors with players with more divergent ft rates, assuming our goal is to measure and compare their scoring efficiencies.

On topic: as a Cal guy, I’m stoked about Jaylen’s development, in pretty much every area. He’s so smooth, confident and efficient with his movements and shot now; the contrast with his Cal days and rookie season is really striking.

I like pts/fga as a quick-reference stat because it recognizes the value of drawing fouls — two made FTs and a foul on the other team is better than a made FG. So if you’re grabbing one stat from the box score to sum up a player’s contribution to team scoring, “30 points on 13 shots” (Jaylen’s line on Wednesday) is pretty insightful while requiring no computation or information not in the box score. If you’re doing more advanced analytics, however, then of course it’s more precise to use TS% to measure scoring efficiency and find some other way to measure the value-add from drawing fouls.

 

[DeJesus Built My Hotrod]

Right about at 40% from deep right now. If this keeps up, All Star accolades will be the least of it.

The remarkable thing about it is that in addition to the observations above about the game coming to him and his ability to create separation via his athleticism, he is really starting to attack mismatches with a newfound aggressiveness. It seems like he has learned that there are few defenders who can stay with him and if he gets past them, its lights out.

Watching players like him and, perhaps, Tatum, level up is one of the most fun aspects of sports for me. It makes every single game a must-see event regardless of opponent.

 

[TripleOT]

20.7 ppg on 52.6/38.9/75% shooting, 7 reb, 2.4 ast.

His 58.5 eFG, which is better than every 20+ ppg scorer except Giannis and big man KAT.

 

[amarshal2]

We were all so wowed by how improved he looked out of the gate this season, but he continues to improve, dramatically, in-season. It's not going to last, but his TS% is over .680 for the month of December. He was at .590 after the ASB last year and he's now improving on that this season (.615+) with increased usage. He's definitely set a new baseline -- I'm curious to see what it is.

 

[azsoxpatsfan]

Youngest Celtic with back to back 30+ point games since Paul pierce

 

[wade boggs chicken dinner]

A guy with that much talent who works as hard as he did - they generally pan out. Happy to be able to watch him grow and root for him.

Also, I love what he said to Abby - game looks completely different than it did two years ago but hopes the game will look completely different two years from now.

 

[Sam Ray Not]

I like pts/fga as a quick-reference stat because it recognizes the value of drawing fouls — two made FTs and a foul on the other team is better than a made FG. So if you’re grabbing one stat from the box score to sum up a player’s contribution to team scoring, “30 points on 13 shots” (Jaylen’s line on Wednesday) is pretty insightful while requiring no computation or information not in the box score. If you’re doing more advanced analytics, however, then of course it’s more precise to use TS% to measure scoring efficiency and find some other way to measure the value-add from drawing fouls.

All fair points; I use the quick-and-dirty “X points on X fga” for single game reports, too. The one quibble I have is with the “two made FTs” assumption: league average is more like 1.5, and for a FT bricklayer it’s more like 1.0, a below-average use of a possession. A guy like Shaq for example gets a huge boost on “pts/shot” relative to his actual scoring efficiency, while ace FT shooters like Harden, KD and Steph are not sufficiently rewarded for that skill.

As you note, some of the 0.5 (average) points lost at the line are gained back In the value of personal fouls on the other team — plus the value of getting to set up your defense and forcing the other team to start their possession at 0 mph under their own basket. But as you note, it’s clearer and more descriptive to try to measure that value separately and to cite scoring efficiency as TS (ideally counting up the actual possessions used rather than the 0.44 per FTA estimate, if you want to be really precise about it).

Anyway, sorry for the detour: however you slice it, Jaylen is freaking killing it right now. Holy trinity of Cal Bears with Aaron Rogers and Jason Kidd?

 

[DeJesus Built My Hotrod]

Holy trinity of Cal Bears with Aaron Rogers and Jason Kidd?

I would subtract Kidd because he is a POS person and is currently employed by an expansion NBA franchise that was so odious it was moved out of a wholesome city/state and moved to one of the worst US cities in terms of traffic, pollution and obnoxious people.

You should be part of that holy trinity in lieu of Kidd.

Also, back to Jaylen, some of the advanced metrics still haven't caught up to this latest leap but he is currently 17th in the league in RPM and sports a decent PIPM too if that is your thing. LondonSox would even be impressed (come back London!!!).

 

[bosockboy]

All fair points; I use the quick-and-dirty “X points on X fga” for single game reports, too. The one quibble I have is with the “two made FTs” assumption: league average is more like 1.5, and for a FT bricklayer it’s more like 1.0, a below-average use of a possession. A guy like Shaq for example gets a huge boost on “pts/shot” relative to his actual scoring efficiency, while ace FT shooters like Harden, KD and Steph are not sufficiently rewarded for that skill.

As you note, some of the 0.5 (average) points lost at the line are gained back In the value of personal fouls on the other team — plus the value of getting to set up your defense and forcing the other team to start their possession at 0 mph under their own basket. But as you note, it’s clearer more descriptive to try to measure that value separately and to cite scoring efficiency as TS (ideally counting up the actual possessions used rather than the 0.44 per FTA estimate, if you want to be really precise about it).

Anyway, sorry for the detour: however you slice it, Jaylen is freaking killing it right now. Holy trinity of Cal Bears with Aaron Rogers and Jason Kidd?

Tony Gonzalez.

 

[Sam Ray Not]

You should be part of that holy trinity in lieu of Kidd.

Lol. If we’re going off sports, I’ll nominate Gregory Peck. In sports, yeah, Tony Gonzalez is a good choice (thanks bsb), or Beastmode Lynch If only for not waltzing into the end zone at the end of SB XLIX.

 

[Ed Hillel]

He's legit transforming into Kawhi Leonard, which is unreal. He's barely 23 years old, guys. TWENTY THREE!

 

[Reverend]

He's legit transforming into Kawhi Leonard, which is unreal. He's barely 23 years old, guys. TWENTY THREE!

I can’t wait to vote for him some day. I might have to move though. It’ll be worth it, I figure.

 

[Reverend]

I would subtract Kidd because he is a POS person and is currently employed by an expansion NBA franchise that was so odious it was moved out of a wholesome city/state and moved to one of the worst US cities in terms of traffic, pollution and obnoxious people.

You should be part of that holy trinity in lieu of Kidd.

Also, back to Jaylen, some of the advanced metrics still haven't caught up to this latest leap but he is currently 17th in the league in RPM and sports a decent PIPM too if that is your thing. LondonSox would even be impressed (come back London!!!).

I miss @londonsoxfan as well.

 

[Devizier]

I would subtract Kidd because he is a POS person and is currently employed by an expansion NBA franchise that was so odious it was moved out of a wholesome city/state and moved to one of the worst US cities in terms of traffic, pollution and obnoxious people.

What about Kevin.. um, erm, never mind

 

[TripleOT]

All fair points; I use the quick-and-dirty “X points on X fga” for single game reports, too. The one quibble I have is with the “two made FTs” assumption: league average is more like 1.5, and for a FT bricklayer it’s more like 1.0, a below-average use of a possession. A guy like Shaq for example gets a huge boost on “pts/shot” relative to his actual scoring efficiency, while ace FT shooters like Harden, KD and Steph are not sufficiently rewarded for that skill.

As you note, some of the 0.5 (average) points lost at the line are gained back In the value of personal fouls on the other team — plus the value of getting to set up your defense and forcing the other team to start their possession at 0 mph under their own basket. But as you note, it’s clearer and more descriptive to try to measure that value separately and to cite scoring efficiency as TS (ideally counting up the actual possessions used rather than the 0.44 per FTA estimate, if you want to be really precise about it).

Anyway, sorry for the detour: however you slice it, Jaylen is freaking killing it right now. Holy trinity of Cal Bears with Aaron Rogers and Jason Kidd?

I'm also a fan of "x points on y shots."

Against the Cavs, the Jays had 64 points on 40 shots. That's going to be close to the new normal as these young men mature into NBA superstars (without the self entitled douchiness of many NBA stars).

They are the first Top 3 picks to come up on a contending team in a generation, so their careers haven't been polluted with the typical "first three years of empty stats on 17-25 win teams." It's interesting how they were developed a bit differently, with the more natural scorer Tatum a starter with scoring role from the jump, who has developed into a good defender, and the more natural defender Brown a reserve who earned minutes as he advanced his offensive game and figured out how to mold his top of the league athletic ability into an efficient, productive offensive game.

The Clippers were able to snag Kawhi and PG-13 as they head into their 30s. We get to see a half decade of the two Jays as they develop into that kind of great at both end of the court tandem. I've always been high on Jaylen because I loved his makeup and work ethic.

Here's when I fell for JB, mostly because of the interview in the beginning and Brown showing pretty good shooting form splashing a bunch of threes from the corner. (Please ignore the annoying interviewer).

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=We3POGSU9Rw

 

[Eddie Jurak]

John Karalis had an interesting thread comparing Tatum and Brown.

View: https://twitter.com/RedsArmy_John/status/1210957906469896192?s=20

The offensive parallels between Tatum & Brown last night are interesting... Both took 20 shots, both were 5-10 from 3, both hit 3 free throws, both had 2 assists.​

​

You have to dig a little deeper to see the differences, statistically. According to NBA stats tracking data (which is imperfect, I know, but it's at least a guide) Tatum made 5 contested shots to Brown's 2. JB made 11 uncontested to Tatum's 6.​

​

Tatum takes and makes tough shots. He takes tougher shots than Jaylen does. Brown's strengths this season have been (a) getting the separation to create open shots and (b) maximizing catch-and-shoot opportunities.​

​

Jaylen Brown has made 57 3's this year. 52 have been assisted (catch-and-shoot) 5 of those are unassisted (pull-ups). Jayson Tatum has made 74 3's this year. 47 have been assisted, 27 are unassisted.​

​

 

[Sam Ray Not]

I'm also a fan of "x points on y shots."

Haha, d'oh, that's what I meant. "X point on X shots" (or if you prefer, .500 TS) is Westbrookian.

 

[TripleOT]

John Karalis had an interesting thread comparing Tatum and Brown.

View: https://twitter.com/RedsArmy_John/status/1210957906469896192?s=20

The offensive parallels between Tatum & Brown last night are interesting... Both took 20 shots, both were 5-10 from 3, both hit 3 free throws, both had 2 assists.​

​

You have to dig a little deeper to see the differences, statistically. According to NBA stats tracking data (which is imperfect, I know, but it's at least a guide) Tatum made 5 contested shots to Brown's 2. JB made 11 uncontested to Tatum's 6.​

​

Tatum takes and makes tough shots. He takes tougher shots than Jaylen does. Brown's strengths this season have been (a) getting the separation to create open shots and (b) maximizing catch-and-shoot opportunities.​

​

Jaylen Brown has made 57 3's this year. 52 have been assisted (catch-and-shoot) 5 of those are unassisted (pull-ups). Jayson Tatum has made 74 3's this year. 47 have been assisted, 27 are unassisted.​

​

And the eternal question is: Does Tatum take tough shots because he has to, or because he wants to?
Or is it he can't get the separation that Brown gets. I'd say that JT presses his offense because he sees his role as a volume scorer, while JB sees himself as more of an opportunity scorer (really good at the break, as a wing or with the ball, catch and shoot the threeball).

I'm ok with what both are doing, but I'd like to see Brown become more of a volume scorer and press his offense, and Tatum become more of an opportunity scorer, and let the offense come to him. It's not the 2017 playoffs. There's plenty of offensive talent to sync with to make it easier for Tatum and everyone else.

With Smart and Hayward out, Brad was playing JT for half the first quarter, then bringing him back at the end of the first/beginning of the second to carry the offense with Kemba out. Now, Tatum will always be out there with another scorer, and doesn't need to rely on self generated offense.

 

[HowBoutDemSox]

John Karalis had an interesting thread comparing Tatum and Brown.

View: https://twitter.com/RedsArmy_John/status/1210957906469896192?s=20

The offensive parallels between Tatum & Brown last night are interesting... Both took 20 shots, both were 5-10 from 3, both hit 3 free throws, both had 2 assists.​

​

You have to dig a little deeper to see the differences, statistically. According to NBA stats tracking data (which is imperfect, I know, but it's at least a guide) Tatum made 5 contested shots to Brown's 2. JB made 11 uncontested to Tatum's 6.​

​

Tatum takes and makes tough shots. He takes tougher shots than Jaylen does. Brown's strengths this season have been (a) getting the separation to create open shots and (b) maximizing catch-and-shoot opportunities.​

​

Jaylen Brown has made 57 3's this year. 52 have been assisted (catch-and-shoot) 5 of those are unassisted (pull-ups). Jayson Tatum has made 74 3's this year. 47 have been assisted, 27 are unassisted.​

​

More of this analysis from his column today, for anyone interested:
https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2019/12/how-jaylen-brown-and-jayson-tatum-have-found-balance-complement-each-other-and-propel-the-boston-celtics.html

 

[Eddie Jurak]

And the eternal question is: Does Tatum take tough shots because he has to, or because he wants to?
Or is it he can't get the separation that Brown gets. I'd say that JT presses his offense because he sees his role as a volume scorer, while JB sees himself as more of an opportunity scorer (really good at the break, as a wing or with the ball, catch and shoot the threeball).

I'm ok with what both are doing, but I'd like to see Brown become more of a volume scorer and press his offense, and Tatum become more of an opportunity scorer, and let the offense come to him. It's not the 2017 playoffs. There's plenty of offensive talent to sync with to make it easier for Tatum and everyone else.

With Smart and Hayward out, Brad was playing JT for half the first quarter, then bringing him back at the end of the first/beginning of the second to carry the offense with Kemba out. Now, Tatum will always be out there with another scorer, and doesn't need to rely on self generated offense.

It depends on one's underlying assumptions. Both of them mostly hit assisted threes (91% for Brown and 64% for Tatum). Is that because Brown doesn't try to create his own threes, while Tatum does? Or is it because Tatum can creat and hit those shots for himself, while Brown can't (or at least not nearly as well)?

I think it's a mistake to assume that the differences between the two are solely (or mostly) due to differences in style (as opposed to differences in abilities). It's possible that is true but it doesn't have to be.

 

[Preacher]

More of this analysis from his column today, for anyone interested:
https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2019/12/how-jaylen-brown-and-jayson-tatum-have-found-balance-complement-each-other-and-propel-the-boston-celtics.html

[From the story] Which one is Fire and which one is Ice?

 

[DGreenwood]

Brown as fire and Tatum as ice makes the most sense to me. I also think Trouble 0-7 is pretty clever.

 

[Devizier]

Fire and Ice is too close to Chill and Smoove, another pairing of young J-named players who turned out to be pretty disappointing in the long run.