Will Jaylen Brown use All-NBA snub as further playoff motivation?

Will Jaylen Brown use All-NBA snub as additional playoff motivation? initially appeared on NBC Sports activities Boston

Regardless of producing essentially the most environment friendly two-way season of his eight-year profession for a staff that raced away from the remainder of the NBA, Boston Celtics ahead Jaylen Brown didn’t earn any postseason {hardware} for his 2023-24 season.

Simply hours after being denied a spot on the All-Protection staff, Brown compelled a late-game turnover that saved the Celtics from a Recreation 1 loss within the Jap Convention Finals towards the Indiana Pacers. Simply hours after hitting the largest shot of his profession, a 3-pointer that compelled time beyond regulation in Recreation 1, Brown was snubbed from the 15-man All-NBA staff.

The one actual query isn’t if Brown, an All-NBA Second-Teamer one 12 months in the past, deserved higher consideration for each awards. It’s will he take out any frustrations on opponents for the remainder of Boston’s keep within the 2024 playoffs?

Brown making the All-Protection staff was completely a protracted shot, even when teammate Al Horford was adamant that Brown deserved a spot on that squad. Nonetheless, Brown routinely took on the problem of defending the opposing staff’s finest scorer and produced his most constant defensive season. He was an afterthought in voting.

Being left off the All-NBA staff feels way more egregious. Brown was a key a part of Boston’s regular-season domination by which the Celtics completed 14-plus video games forward of each staff within the Jap Convention, and seven-plus video games forward of everybody within the league.

Boston completed 15 video games forward of the Phoenix Suns, and 17 video games forward of the Los Angeles Lakers. Each these groups positioned two gamers on the All-NBA squads, together with Suns guard Devin Booker, who snagged the ultimate spot in media voting.

Brown was the primary man out, totaling 50 factors whereas touchdown on roughly half of the 99 whole ballots submitted (all third-place votes). Booker noticed on 56 ballots, together with seven second-team nods, serving to him whole 70 factors. The Suns have been bounced within the first spherical of the playoffs.

When Brown takes the ground for Recreation 2 of the Jap Convention finals Thursday night time, he’ll look throughout the court docket and see Tyrese Haliburton, who secured one other of the Third Staff nods that evaded Brown.

The snub is all of the extra flummoxing given the ways in which Brown elevated his sport this previous season. Regardless of signing the richest contract extension in NBA historical past, Brown supersized his effectivity. He tightened up the turnovers that diminished his play final season, and made it some extent to routinely end with the left hand that had develop into a punchline at occasions.

Brown’s scoring dipped with Boston’s inflow of expertise however his effectivity spiked. He shot a career-best 49.9 p.c from the ground and his 3-point capturing bounced again nearer to his profession common (35.4 p.c this 12 months, up 1.9 p.c from 2022-23). Brown’s rebounding went down, however that occurs if you add a 7-foot-3 heart to the roster.

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Finally, it seems like Brown was punished by voters as a result of Boston added proficient items in Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Vacation. However for stretches of the season, Brown was Boston’s best participant and routinely introduced the power on each side of the ball.

Earlier than the postseason, we sat down with Brown, who shrugged off anybody who failed to note his progress this season.

“For me, I’ve at all times been about profitable and I feel that is what the group trusts. From Day 1, Jaylen is a staff man,” stated Brown. “It’s at all times been a stability, sort of attempting to decipher easy methods to be the perfect model of you, and be the perfect model of you that is wanted for this staff. Typically these issues are usually not at all times aligned. That was a stability.”

It is a stability that Brown perfected. He sacrificed pictures in Boston’s new talent-filled beginning 5, however that gave him extra power on the defensive finish. Boston’s effectivity as soon as plummeted when working mate Jayson Tatum, an All-NBA First Staff choice, went to the bench. However Brown lineups thrived this season, significantly when paired with Porzingis in these non-Tatum minutes.

Defensively, Brown wished the hardest task.

The listing of gamers who Brown spent essentially the most time per sport guarding this season reads just like the All-NBA staff. Booker, Anthony Edwards, Luka Doncic, Dejounte Murray, Jamal Murray, Kawhi Leonard, Zion Williamson, and Donovan Mitchell take up eight of the highest 9 regular-season spots for Brown. He restricted his opponents to 44.8 p.c capturing for the season, a top-20 mark among the many 156 gamers who defended at the least 10 area aim makes an attempt per sport. Brown held opponents to 2.4 p.c beneath anticipated output total.

Hey, possibly Tatum was proper. We will’t name the Celtics a superteam as a result of the awards counsel they’re something however. The Celtics received 64 video games on the energy of 1 All-NBA participant, two All-Protection guys (Jrue Vacation, Derrick White), and an Govt of the 12 months (Brad Stevens).

Brown deserves extra credit score for his half. Alas, he may simply must accept merely being an enormous piece of a championship staff.