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Appreciation Post for Jaylen Brown, Getting it Done on Both Ends of the Floor
By Matt Schultz
Published:
Jaylen Brown is so damn good. Look at this clutch block he had on Cade Cunningham in the final minute of Wednesday night’s 112-106 Sixers win over the Pistons — who else is out here doing stuff like this?
Do you know how hard that is to do? You rarely see a block on a three-point close-out in the NBA, and for good reason. These guys are so good at shooting. They release the ball so fast. Their spatial awareness is through the roof. It’s crazy that JB got his hand on that ball. It’s not like he was trailing the play and blocked the shot from behind — Cade saw him coming, and clearly didn’t think JB could make up the ground to make a good contest:
As you can see in the impressively marked-up photos I just edited, Cade was a good two-ish feet beyond the arc and already in his shooting motion by the time Jaylen even began closing out — and with his hand down, mind you. But despite what the old adage says, this was not Hand Down, Man Down. This was the exception that proves the rule. This was Hand Down, Man Up. Yes… Wonderful…
And on the other side of the floor, Jaylen has been nothing short of tremendous. Look at his numbers through 8 games:
21.8 points, 3.9 assists, and about 7 rebounds on 47.4% from the field and 44.4% (!!!) from three. This is incredible efficiency. He’s also taking about 5 fewer shots per game than he did last season, which is heartening to see. His usage rate is currently sitting at 24.8% , which ranks 75th in the NBA. That’s a far cry from where he was last year, when he pretty much took every shot for the Celtics and ended the season with a 36.1% usage rate, a career-high that ranked second in the NBA behind on Luka Doncic (38%).
Here’s how the Sixers’ usage is being doled out so far:
Look at that balance. Look at that order. It’s beautiful… And Jaylen Brown deserves a ton of credit for it. And for his efficiency. And for his defense. And for contributing to the excellent vibes so far this year. Thank you, Jaylen.
Matt Schultz is a comedy and sports writer from Philadelphia. He’s written extensively for ClickHole, The Onion, and Conan O’Brien’s Team Coco. His work has been featured in Vulture, Deadspin, The A.V. Club, Paste Magazine, and other publications. Much of his sports journalism can be found on college basketball websites that don’t exist anymore (PhilaHoops Heads rise up…) email: M.Schultz@sportradar.com