'Showtime' Jaylen Brown stringing together highlights and helping the Boston Celtics win games

http://www.masslive.com/celtics/index.ssf/2017/03/jaylen_brown_boston_celtics_lo_1.html



'Showtime' Jaylen Brown stringing together highlights and helping the Boston Celtics win games







Posted on March 4, 2017 at 5:00 AM



BY JAY KING


LOS ANGELES -- If the Boston Celtics fan in an Isaiah Thomas jersey required medical treatment Friday night, it was almost certainly because he pounded his chest powerfully enough to cause heart damage. Sitting behind the Celtics basket at Staples Center, the fan battered his upper body repeatedly because, to him, it felt like the right reaction to Jaylen Brown's ridiculous fast-break finish.

Skying in transition, Brown had reached up with his left hand to retrieve a pass, shift the ball to his right hand, and bounce a layup off the glass while spinning away from a foul.

"I could do better," Brown said later. "I could top it."

If he does, the wildly enthusiastic fan might inadvertently celebrate himself to death. The play was so nice Brown took time to watch it on his phone before addressing the media. With a sheepish grin, he admitted he pulled up the highlight on his phone moments after Boston finished its 115-95 win. He might have watched another fast-break bucket, too -- the one where he caught an off-the-backboard alley-oop from Isaiah Thomas. While scoring 16 points and eight rebounds, Brown added to the long list of wow moments he has already delivered during his debut season.

Check out this:

https://twitter.com/ESPNNBA/status/837900633386729473

And this:

https://t.co/yyIzHbb34U

And this:

https://t.co/bhWSNHfNv2


The last highlight rankled Lakers head coach Luke Walton. He did not blame the Celtics for having fun, but wished his own team could have limited all of the entertainment. Boston had such a blast Brown even called his team's transition success a term normally associated with the Lakers glory days: "Showtime."

Most of the showtime plays came from Brown, who admitted afterward he considered it "a little bit (of) a jab" when experts called the 2016 NBA Draft two-deep with top-shelf talent. Though it would be crazy to pass judgment on a player during his rookie season, the early returns have been more promising to Brown than to the Lakers' No. 2 overall pick, Brandon Ingram, who went scoreless Friday.

I'll just leave these stats here, courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com:




And Brown is contributing to a playoff team.

"It's hard because most rookies that get Rookie of the Year are playing for bad teams," said Thomas. "They get all the opportunity. They play 35 minutes a game. They take any shots they want. But I think bigger picture it's better for him to be on a playoff team, understanding how to win games.

"And he knows what he brings to the table. And the Celtics organization knows he's a big part of what we got going. And I think that means a little more. I mean, he would definitely want to win Rookie of the Year, but it's hard going up against guys that aren't really playing for nothing."

In a different situation, Brown might have the green light to expand his mid-post game, fire more jumpers off the dribble, and experiment with various parts of his game. It's neat to wonder what he might be doing for, say, the Brooklyn Nets, with all the minutes and touches he could want. But it's also neat to see Brown learn how to impact the No. 2 team in the Eastern Conference.

During a win against the Cleveland Cavaliers earlier this week, he slammed home a key alley-oop, drilled a fourth-quarter 3-pointer, and clapped his hands while defending LeBron James down the stretch. Asked about the latter moment, Brown made it a point to say he wasn't trying to be "disrespectful or nothing like that."

"I'm in the mix now so there's no time to be in awe or mesmerized," he added. "I have to guard these guys and stop these guys, and I want to be in the same position as these guys. So I'm not really in awe anymore. It's go time."


Go time, showtime -- whatever you want to call it, Brown likes a challenge.  As Thomas said, "He's not afraid of the moment."

Considering Brown's raw skills, next-level athleticism and notable work ethic, there might not be a player behind him in the draft who Boston would rather have. The same fans who booed his selection on draft night now dream of what he might become.

"As somebody goes throughout time, if they pay attention and they work, they're going to get better, they're going to grow," Brown said. "So that's what I've been trying to do. I don't want to stay stagnant. I want to just keep getting better, and guys like Avery (Bradley) have helped me out a lot to be honest. Just being on a team like this has helped me out a lot. So I'm grateful and I've grown a lot, and I still have a lot more to go."


bob
MY NOTE:  Imagine what we might have had if Gerald Green had Jaylen Brown's maturity when he was drafted.  Imagine what Gerald Green might have had if Gerald Green had Jaylen Brown's maturity.  You can see him making mistakes in a game and correcting them mid-game.  That is veteran experience and knowledge and this kid is showing it halfway through his rookie year.  Thomas' point is great too, Brown is learning how to win.  That's something that Brandon Ingram, for all his minutes, isn't learning and yes it is a learning thing.  LeBron James, the greatest player of his era, didn't learn how to win until he went to DWade's Miami Heat and then he took it back to Cleveland and carried them on his shoulders to a Championship.  Jaylen Brown is learning how to win without having to carry the team on his back while in class like LeBron had to do in Cleveland in his early years.


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So many criticized Danny for picking Jalen at #3, and then came summer league, when Jalen started showing his stuff. Henceforth let all the Celtics faithful heed the words of our Lord and Saviour: "Let he who has not dunked cast the first stone."