Jaylen Brown is on the verge of Celtics history, as he only trails Larry Bird for the most consecutive 30-point performances in the franchise's existence.
While Jayson Tatum continues to rehab from a torn Achilles, Brown is not just holding down the fort in his teammate's absence but doing so in MVP form thus far as the Celtics are 19-11, which is currently the third best record in the East.
Brown's latest 30-point output was in the team's 140-122 victory over Indiana Friday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse -- his eighth-straight, to extend Boston's win-streak to four. He's now second behind Bird (1985) for the most consecutive 30-point games in Celtics history -- going 13-of-20 from the field against the Pacers, to go along with three rebounds, four assists, and four steals -- surpassing Paul Pierce (7).
If Brown can pull off the feat two more times, the All-Star will make franchise history, in a crucial moment of his career where the naysayers doubted he could lead as the longest tenured Celtic without Tatum by his side -- in what many looked at this season as a "bridge year."
For the month of December, Brown, while chasing Bird's record, is averaging 32.1 points per contest -- which leads the NBA in scoring during that stretch. He dropped 42 points against the No. 2 seed Knicks, 34 points versus the conference-leading Pistons, and 30 in a 20-point come-from-behind win over the Pacers, keeping the Celtics just two games back of New York and 4.5 behind Detroit.
You won't get any argument from teammate Payton Pritchard, who has transition from Sixth-Man of the Year a season ago to full-time starter and reaping the benefits of playing along side Brown and why he believes the four-time All-Star belongs in the MVP conversation.
"He's just a top player in this NBA," Pritchard said Friday during his postgame comments. "He should be in the MVP conversation, for sure, and he shows it every night. JB is a tough cover -- he can shoot it at all three levels, is athletic and strong, and he's got a good handle and pull-up game. So he's just a tough cover, and he's showing it."
Brown is having a career year so far, leading the Celtics with a career-best 29.4 points per contest, while ranking second on the team in rebounds (6.4), third in assists (4.9), and third in steals (1.1) in 27 games played. When it comes to the rest of the league, including early MVP candidates, Brown ranks sixth in scoring -- trailing only Donovan Mitchell and Tyrese Maxey in the East -- while carrying the Celtics to a better record than both the Cavaliers and 76ers.
Already an Eastern Conference Player of the Week recipient earlier this month, Brown is proving to not only be an elite scorer and defender but a high-level playmaker as well with younger talent such as Jordan Walsh, Luka Garza, Josh Minott and rookie Hugo Gonzalez following the departure of champion veterans Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford and Luke Kornet -- while echoing Joe Mazzulla and the Celtics coaching staff of the next man up mentality.
"He just spends a ton of time reading the game and the execution of the game," Mazzulla said. "And obviously he's very, very talented, so it has a lot to do with it. I think his desire to continue to work and play versus different coverages -- that's really helped. Then his ability to pick and choose his spots really well."
Still, even if Mazzulla won't pay it much mind when it comes to Brown being in MVP talks or not and the kind of season he's having, it hasn't gone unnoticed the type numbers he's putting up for the month of December alone, as he looks to pull head of Bird and break a 40-year-old record to achieve Celtics lure.
Joel Pavón
No comments:
Post a Comment