Bill Simmons Points Out Something ‘Shocking’ About Celtics’ Jaylen Brown
Jaylen Brown has silenced his critics this season and shown beyond a reasonable doubt that he’s capable of being a No. 1 option on a winning NBA basketball team.
The Boston Celtics have recovered from an 0-3 start to the campaign to emerge as one of the strongest squads in the league, and Brown has been the engine keeping the Celtics operating at a high level, even without Jayson Tatum.
The Ringer’s Bill Simmons recently discussed Brown’s season with analyst Rob Mahoney during a new episode of The Bill Simmons Podcast. Simmons made an interesting observation about JB: With Giannis out due to injury, Brown might be the best forward playing in the NBA right now.
“Here’s what’s shocking about Jaylen,” Simmons said. “Jaylen has a case for being the best forward in the league right now. … Jalen Johnson, Scottie Barnes, (Karl-Anthony) Towns, if you consider Towns a forward (is the competition). It’s like a weird forward situation this year, ‘cause we don’t have Jayson Tatum … it’s really all guards and centers (that are the best players).”
“I think Jaylen is the best pure forward in the league right now,” Simmons continued, after which Mahoney pointed out that Kevin Durant may have been an oversight.
“But I don’t think KD’s been one of the 10 best players (this year),” Simmons replied. “Like, I think Jaylen’s been more impactful than KD this year. Jaylen’s been going toe-to-toe with the best players in the league for three weeks, you know, as like the only real star on his roster. Night after night.”
While Durant is surrounded by one or two stars and a deep supporting cast in Houston, JB has carried a heavier burden in Boston. This is not to discredit the star power of Derrick White or Payton Pritchard, but the numbers show that Brown’s usage is higher than Durant’s, as is his overall impact. Simmons might be onto something.
Simply put, Brown has been an MVP-type force so far this season, steering the Celtics to a 15-9 record and third place in the Eastern Conference. With Tatum sidelined by an Achilles injury, Brown has shouldered Boston’s scoring load, averaging a career-best 29.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 4.9 assists through 23 games, while shooting 49.6 percent from the field.
Brown’s recent stretch of scoring is particularly notable. He dropped 42 points on 16-of-24 shooting to topple the New York Knicks on December 2, followed by 30-point outbursts against the Los Angeles Lakers and Toronto Raptors.
Named Eastern Conference Player of the Week on December 11 for his 34-point, 53.8 percent shooting average over four games, Brown’s versatility has unlocked an 85th-percentile offense. At this pace, Brown’s All-NBA bid looks inevitable.