Jaylen Brown at the Boston Celtics, see here at a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers in January … [+]
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He has already put together an impressive resume in his young career but Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics is still an NBA All-Star. That is likely to change this year. While Brown is up against an uphill battle when it comes to being voted as a starter, his consistent performance this season should ensure he at least appears in This year’s NBA All-Star Game – that is if there is one at all.
Let’s start with why Jaylen Brown deserves a nod, even above player Jayson Tatum. Brown has started all of his Celtics games and is a team leader in PER. He has been a key player for a team that has been trying to get through despite wasting time from key starters. While Tatum is currently barely leading in points per game, averaging 26.8 points over Brown’s 26.4 points, Brown has become more of an effective offensive player. As Jay King of the Athletics says, “If he maintains his current pace, he is the first player in NBA history to average 27 points on shooting at least 53 percent while in which he makes two or 3 more points per game. ”
Okay, okay, in the NBA you can do a lot of special accomplishments like this with cherry picking stats, but King just doesn’t pick up numbers to create a smooth portarit of Brown. What he is doing here is trying to put together a statistical picture to support what one sees Brown looking at game by game. It puts up a high NBA performance, one that happens at every end of the floor. Brown is not just a differentiator on offense, he always makes plays on the defensive end.
Brown clearly has his best year as a player and has a valid argument for starting the All-Star Game. It is unlikely to happen, however, as he is currently fourth in votes for the Eastern Conference back court, behind Bradley Beal at Washington Wizards, Kyrie Irving at Brooklyn Nets and James Harden. All three have more than a million votes from yesterday’s figures. Brown had 590,195. Meanwhile, Tatum has more votes at 822,151 but remains strong in fourth place among front court players. While Tatum has a better view, there are three places available for front court players compared to the two slots provided for each conference for guards. It looks more likely that the pair will have to be voted into the reserve as the league’s top coaches.
It won’t help that so much of Brown and Tatum has been doing to keep the team going, the Celtics just haven’t been amazing. Their roster is currently 11-9, texting above .500 and placing them fourth at the Eastern Conference. Theoretically, they will have the opportunity to run once their beginners are fit – Marcus Smart is currently playing the role of the main figure on the DL – but who knows when or when that will be forever. The recent history of Celtics is not promising on that issue.
Of course, there is still a chance that all of this could be irrational. The NBA is still negotiating whether or not there will be a game this year, with many players suggesting that it is foolish to put together a show game with the concerns about the release of Covid-19. “I don’t even understand why we’re getting an All-Star Game,” LeBron James told the Los Angeles Lakers yesterday, and – to put it bluntly – his voice carries more than a little weight. around the league. This came after news was released that the NBA and the Players Union were reaching an agreement that would happen that the All-Star Game would take place in Atlanta on March 7th.
This plague season has provided ample evidence that the NBA is unwilling to make many more sacrifices after last year ‘s successful Bubble test, so it’ s likely to get there. Game or not, the league almost certainly makes All-Star selections and, when they do, it will be awful if they look over what Brown has been doing. While situations may make the honor more symbolic than usual this time around, look for Brown to get the first All-Star node of many wins.