
Jaylen Brown is taking on a new role with the Boston Celtics this season. They are missing three starters from last year’s team, which means guys are going to have to step into new roles.
This season, Brown will have to be the lead scoring option while Jayson Tatum tries like a madman to return this season after tearing his Achilles tendon in the playoffs.
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Brown has been vocal about how he’s ready to be a new kind of leader this season. He backed those words up after his first preseason game.
Prior to the first preseason game of the year for the Celtics, Brown was vocal about how the team needed to be intense from the get-go, even in a preseason game.
“The intensity from day one is what I want to see,” Brown said. “We don’t want to ease into the season. I want to, from the first preseason game, let’s get right to it.”
Brown certainly took those words to heart against the Grizzlies in the preseason opener, scoring 21 points in just 20 minutes. He attacked downhill and was intense from the moment the game tipped off.
Not only did he use that intensity to help score the ball well, but Brown even got into a bit of a skirmish in that game. It seems that Brown is backing up his words with his play on the court, and he’s looking for his teammates to follow suit.
While Brown was very good when it came to his shooting against the Grizzlies, his playmaking was nonexistent. He didn’t have a single assist in that first game.
If the Celtics are going to compete for a playoff spot, they have to get some increased playmaking from Brown, even if Derrick White is going to handle the ball more.
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Teams are going to suffocate Brown from getting downhill to prevent a scoring avalanche for him, which means he has to be aware enough to find the open man with a pass.
Last season, Brown averaged 22.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game. He shot 46.3 percent from the field and 32.4 percent from beyond the 3-point arc.
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