Should Celtics turn to Jaylen Brown to boost bench offense?

The Celtics have won five straight games and Jaylen Brown was instrumental in two of those victories, piling up 25 and 19 points respectively in wins over the Raptors and Knicks last week. The swingman has been sidelined for nine days since those contests however, while recovering from an illness and an infection that has lingered. The team kept him behind in Boston for the start of this three-game road trip as he recovers, but the 23-year-old appears to be on the verge of joining his teammates.

“He had a good workout this morning in Boston,” Brad Stevens told Zolak and Bertrand Wednesday. “He’s going to see the team doc (today) in Boston and we’ll get word on whether he’s okay to travel to Charlotte or not.”

At this point, it should only be a matter of days before Brown is back into the lineup, giving the C’s depth a much-needed boost after relying on a heavily inexperienced bench over the past two weeks. That second unit showed signs of life on Tuesday night, as Carsen Edwards delivered a career-high 13 points in a win over the Cavs, but the firepower throughout the bench will still be weak if Brown returns to his starting job. Marcus Smart is a good floor general with the second unit, but he doesn’t provide close to the individual shot creation and offensive firepower compared to Boston’s other top scorers. Brown, Gordon Hayward, Jayson Tatum and Kemba Walker are all averaging 17-plus points per game right now, giving the C’s depth chart a very top heavy feel.

The lack of offense has been a troublesome issue for the bench unit as we covered here on BSJ Tuesday — so the question remains with the C’s rolling amid five straight wins: Should Brown be turned into a sixth man to help with the scoring problem off the pine (30th in NBA)? Stevens was asked the question today on Zolak and Bertrand.

“We’ll figure it out,” Stevens said of his plans for Brown. “I think the biggest thing is figuring out what his restrictions are. It’s not like he’s missed a month. He’s missed nine days. He was playing really well in those last two games against Toronto and New York. I do think we have to figure out how to strengthen our bench from the standpoint of scoring. I think that whether you bring him off, Marcus off, whoever off, you are going to have more guys that have been there and done that in those groups. Obviously, we’ll rotate Tatum and Hayward in that group some as well. We’ll just figure out how to make that best work.”

With a ball handler in Brad Wanamaker seemingly entrenched in the rotation as a backup, the need for a true point guard like Smart seems to be reduced for the bench. His defensive impact has been critical from the jump over the past three games, as he’s helped to limit opportunities against the best power-forward scorers on opposing teams. That impact can be minimized a bit when he spends the first six minutes of each half on the bench.

The other intriguing factor here is the lineup data so far indicates that the current starting five may be forming a unique chemistry from a defensive standpoint. The Walker/Smart/Hayward/Tatum/Theis unit is allowing just 88 points per 100 possessions in 49 minutes played, the best defensive rating out of any lineup that has played 40-plus minutes this season.

Even when you take Theis out of the mix and simply compare four-man lineups, the early returns are stronger for a Smart/Walker backcourt.

Walker/Smart/Hayward/Tatum (+18.3 net rating in 73 minutes over six games)

Walker/Brown/Hayward/Tatum (+6.9 net rating in 40 minutes over three games)

Those numbers by themselves aren’t worthy of much consideration given the small sample size, but it’s hard to ignore the added shot opportunities available for guys like Hayward and Tatum with another ball handler like Smart serving a complementary role alongside them. Allowing Brown to be a featured option with the second unit (while also playing plenty with the starters as the game wears on) may be the best way for the C’s to maximize their offensive output over 48 minutes and get the most out of Brown/Tatum/Hayward/Walker on every given night.

There may be other solutions to the problem as well. Adding Kanter to the bench should help create more scoring firepower there (although Kanter isn’t much of a shot creator on his own). Tinkering the rotation to ensure two starters are on the court at all times with the bench unit may have the same kind of impact as moving Brown to the bench too. Still, it’s tough to ignore the strong numbers the starting five has together and separating that unit for longer stretches in both halves could have drawbacks in specific matchups.

There is still plenty of time for Stevens to experiment with 76 games still remaining on the schedule, but the bench scoring issue isn’t likely to go away without a tweak or two. Brown’s return might be a good excuse to give this lineup variation a look without ruffling any feathers. The fact that Brown was paid over $100 million before the season even started should soften any ill will the youngster may have about the shift. With the team rolling to begin the season at 5-1, there is no pressure on Stevens to make any kind of move just yet, but it’s worth monitoring as the competition increases in the coming weeks.