Robb: Jaylen Brown provides timely reminder of what Celtics need him to be

When it came to potential changes to the Celtics starting five, two names were the ones bandied about the most in recent days: Jaylen Brown and Gordon Hayward. Both guys had struggled mightily on the offensive end through Boston’s first 13 games with the slow start for one player (Hayward) far more understandable than the other.

Brown had regressed into an inefficient option in those early contests, misfiring on 3s (26 percent), layups (51.2 percent) and free throws (65 percent) at a fairly alarming rate. Given how much of a high volume player he had become (third-most field goals attempted on the team) this was a troubling development for a Celtics offense that has been stuck in the bottom third of the league for weeks.

That set the stage for a big checkpoint in the Celtics calendar against the Bulls on Wednesday night coming off a 1-4 road trip. Brad Stevens opted for patience with his underperforming starting five, sticking with the group that still carries the most upside on the roster in hopes they can turn it around. With Hayward carrying far more of a resume that Brown does over the course of his career, any shift within the starting five likely would have come with the third-year guard if the C’s stumbles continued.

Brown undoubtedly heard those whispers and responded with the best game of his season on Wednesday night. The 22-year-old finished with 18 points and six rebounds, both within just one point and rebound of his season-high, while dishing out a season-best three assists in Boston’s 111-82 rout over the Bulls.

The excitement about Brown’s game should not come from the numbers he posted on the offensive end, rather how exactly he managed to achieve them. A look at his shot chart (featuring a season-high 57 percent shooting from the field) demonstrates exactly what the Celtics have been looking for all year from the youngster.



Out of his 14 shot attempts, just one came from the mid-range. That type of shot selection set the stage for a more disciplined offensive night from Boston. Just 10 of their 90 shots came from between the paint and 3-point line and that help turned around a scoring night for the hosts that featured 92 points over the final three quarters.

The importance of Brown’s ability to attack and finish at the rim can’t be understated for Boston’s offense. He’s one of the few players on the roster with the athleticism and touch to finish in traffic, something that is lacking throughout the rest of the starting five, particularly among an aging Al Horford and a recovering Hayward. The Celtics rank in the bottom three in the NBA in attempts at the rim and Brown is the best-positioned player on the team to change that. It all comes down to adequately picking up his spots, according to Stevens.

“I think the biggest thing is, for our whole team: Jaylen can get to the rim at any time,” Brown said. “And I think the biggest thing is just continuing to not only finish with strength but also just continuing to make the right reads. And I think he’s improved in that. And our whole team can still get a lot better at that. I thought not Jaylen, but we had multiple other guys that missed quite a bit at the rim, and we need to be able to convert those as we move forward here.”

Brown has been hard at work studying clips over the past few days to try to get a better handle on his ugly numbers around the rim (51 percent within 3 feet). He was 4-of-6 from in close against Chicago.

“I’ve been watching a lot of film over the last week,” Brown admitted. “Just taking my time. Sometimes I can be in a rush or being overaggressive. Just taking my time and making the right reads. The ball will find you if you’re playing the game the right way. So just continuing to play that way on both sides of the ball. Being dominant on defense and aggressive on offense, so everything will take care of itself.”

That type of finishing upside is what earned Brown a spot in the starting lineup over Marcus Smart a year ago and it’s what needed for him to maintain it for the future over the superior defender in Smart. While progress is expected for any player in year three, the C’s will happily take something resembling the season he provided last year. After failing to come anywhere close to that in his first 13 games, Brown knows some fingers have been pointed at him and he wasn’t going to go quietly into the night without trying to turn things around.

“Just trying to be aggressive at both ends, despite having a bad game and being in a little bit of a slump,” Brown said. “I just wanted to come in with the right mindset, It’s not really my style to point fingers and things like that. I just gotta play better, so I just try to come out with the right mindset and actually some of the shots fell.”

No one put it better than Horford when accounting for Brown’s impact.

“I think he did a great job today, picking his spots, reading, making the right play and when he plays like that, we just look so much better,” Horford said.

One big game against one of the worst teams in the NBA isn’t too much to build off of, but Wednesday’s performance proved to be easily their best two-way win of the year. Given how inconsistent the team looked out West, a confidence builder was needed ahead of two huge tests this weekend at the Garden against the Raptors and Jazz.

The Celtics are going to need Brown at his best to fare well in those matchups and have any hope of getting out of the Eastern Conference this year. His shot selection is going to be a big part of that equation and he took a big step forward on that front Wednesday night, reminding the world what he can do and tightening his grab on a starting spot for the time being.