The Growth Of Jaylen Brown Has Been One Of The Most Enjoyable Parts Of The Celtics Season

Brian Babineau. Getty Images.

Sure, the Magic may have been on a B2B and playing without Paolo Banchero, Jalen Suggs, Wendell Carter Jr, and Goga Bitadze, but this is where you also need to remember I do not give a single fuck about any of that. I just watched a fully healthy (no Tatum) Celtics team lose at home to the 2-win Brooklyn Nets. You think I'm going to complain or nitpick about a bounce-back win? For sure not. The NBA schedule is a gauntlet, everyone deals with B2Bs and injuries all season long. Sometimes, you're on the short end of it, other times you get the benefit of your opponent dealing with it as long as you handle your shit. 

So if you want to take the overall performance with a gigantic grain of salt, I won't push back. This is not the same Magic team we just saw a few weeks ago, but for a Celts team that just needs to see the goddamn ball go through the basket and to finally have some positive moments after the disaster loss against BKN, it all helps. Plus, given how brutal their schedule is about to be for the next few weeks, you take what you can get.

As we quickly approach a quarter of the way through the NBA season, I'd say things are going about as close to what you could have reasonably expected. Celts are now 4-6 against teams .500 or better (5-2 against under .500). The "good news" is they're just 2 games back of a top 3 seed, the "bad news" is they're sitting in 10th and are holding onto to their Play In spot by the skin of their teeth.

For any other team in any other season, that's probably more of a disaster situation, but for the 2025-26 Celtics, they continue to perfectly thread the needle in terms of being able to pivot to either direction based on how their season goes. Did anyone think that as we get close to the 20-game mark, the Celts would have the same amount of wins as the Knicks and Sixers? That they'd have more than the Bucks? They own a top 6 point differential and still can't even really score (last night notwithstanding). 

Ultimately, this current stretch is going to go a long way in telling us what type of season we're about to have

There's one "bad" team in that entire group. A total of 3 separate B2Bs, one of which is MIN/CLE. Starting things off on the right foot and taking care of a shorthanded ORL team was pretty much a must win, so I will not apologize for enjoying watching the Celts get it. Things weren't all rainbows and lollipops as they of course trolled once getting up by 26 because of fucking course they did, but in the end, they survived and last time I checked, a win is a win.

Let's dive in.

The Good

- In games like these, where you're coming off a horrific loss and the best player essentially calls out the entire team for having a dogshit effort, it is extremely important that in the next game that same player steps up and makes sure he doesn't lay an egg. That's how you create resentment and guys start to tune you out. Part of being a leader and the best player on the team is not only calling out the bullshit, but then immediately holding up your end of the bargain the next time you take the court. Lead by example.

That, is exactly what Jaylen Brown did in this win. 

I'll also add that in his 37 minutes, Jaylen only had 1 TO as well. While his overall night was great, what I want to focus on is what we saw down the stretch from Jaylen in the 4th quarter. With the Magic making a run to the point where it became extremely important for the Celtics to execute offensively to ensure they wouldn't experience another horrific collapse, it was Jaylen Brown who answered the call. 

A total of 13 points on 5-7 (2-2) in 10 4th quarter minutes, it cannot be overstated how huge these back to back makes were

Great, and I mean GREAT awareness by Jordan Walsh on those possessions, and to me, those two shots sum up exactly what I continue to preach, regardless of how much people complain about 3P shooting. Jaylen was 0-4 from deep before those shots, and given that, you always hear about how if a player is struggling from deep, they should stop shooting 3s and instead attack and take contested 2s. It's dumb, but it's what people say they want and is the right way to play.

In reality, if anyone on this roster has an open 3PA, they need to be taking it. Especially if it's the best players. I loved how Jaylen took BOTH of those corner threes with full confidence, even knowing that should he miss, the momentum would tilt. Instead he buried them, swinging the momentum the other way. 

After those threes, then came the attacking and using his strength to get to the rim. After Joe Mazzulla took a timeout with the Celtics up 11 at the 6 minute mark, Jaylen Brown then came out and scored the next 12 points, effectively ending the game until DWhite's FTs in the final 24 seconds. As the best player, Jaylen Brown made sure his team didn't collapse, which is exactly what the #1 option is required to do in that spot. 

Speaking of that #1 option thing, this was a huge point of discussion heading into the season. You had many out there believe that he was only a Tatum merchant, and that he wouldn't be able to survive and be effective without his gravity. So far? Not bad!

We're seeing the contiued growth of Jaylen as a leader both on and off the floor. I'd go so far as to say it's been even better than what anyone could have hoped for heading into the season. The on court production, the off the floor accountability and leadership, it's all been so fun to watch.

- Before Jaylen's close, the majority of the backpacking offensively early came via Anfernee Simons, who continues to enjoy going up against his hometown team. On any given night we really don't know which version of Simons we're going to get, but on the nights where we get the shotmaking version, he sure can fill it up quickly

This was one of those games where the shotmaking was so good, you just had to live with the defensive issues. Once Jaylen picked up his 2 early fouls, it was Anfernee Simons who picked up the scoring slack and filled his role perfectly. There's no denying that when Simons starts to get on a heater not only should he stay on the floor, but those lineups should play through him. The second that magic starts to run out, take him out. But while it's going on? He's proving he can carry certain lineup shifts with his shotmaking which is huge for a team that desperately needs shotmaking in the 2nd unit.

I think what makes things a challenge is figuring out that balance, and how much you're willing to sacrifice the defensive end for the sake of offensive production. It's not going to be the same from game to game, so this is where Joe will have to figure it out on a game by game basis. Given the tough defenses the Celts are about to face, perhaps Simons' shotmaking will be more important than what he's giving up defensively. 

But there's no denying he's electric as hell when he sees the ball go in and starts to warm up, and I'm not sure the Celts build their huge lead early without what Simons gave them early.

- Will you remember where you were when you watched the Boston Celtics have the 2nd best offensive quarter in the history of their franchise? Probably not, but their 48 points in the 2nd quarter was rather insane to experience

Hand up, I did not think this version of the Celts were physically capable of having a quarter like this. 78/71% splits? OK lol. Look, if I complain all the time about random prayer performances that bone the Celts, we can at least tell the truth and admit that those 12 minutes were a bit much. But you know what? Shoutout Josh Minott

Scal talked about it on the broadcast, and he couldn't be more right. It does feel like Minott is starting to understand the spacing this offense needs and how to utilize the dunker spot, and to me, that's his ideal approach. Make your open 3s and when you aren't spreading the floor, get your ass to the dunker spot and feast on easy dunks. That's how this team won a title, and so far this year, nobody is really playing that spot. Why can't that be Minott (and Walsh)? 

Considering Queta got hurt, I was very impressed with the job both Minott and Walsh did as small ball 5s. That probably won't work against teams with actual size, but we'll worry about that later. In this game, they executed that role about as well as you could have hoped, especially Minott (7 rebounds). 

The young wings (including Hugo) continue to be one of the bright surprises of the young season, and performances like we got in this win go a long way in creating confidence, which hopefully turns into consistency.

- Man was it a relief to finally see Sam Hauser make the open 3s he's made his entire life but somehow was missing this entire season. I'll take 5-8 (4-7) for a guy who hasn't been able to make a shot for weeks now, and all we can do is hope that this is the start of him snapping out of his funk. His shooting is going to be VERY important over the next few weeks, so everyone pray to the Basketball Gods that our sniper is back. 

- In total, 138 points, 60/45% splits, 29 AST and only 5 TOs is pretty ridiculous. Celts dominated points in the paint 64-52, dominated fastbreak points 26-16, and built a lead as large as 26. Offensively, there was very little to complain about.

- For the "Joe Mazzulla can't draw up an inbounds play" crowd, enjoy

The Bad

- At the time of this blog I haven't seen any official word so I'm just assuming the Celts are going to be without Neemias Queta for a few games following his sprained ankle. To say that would be a massive issue isn't really doing it justice

How do we think going up against the size of DET is going to go without Queta? I'll remind you, the Pistons had like 18 OREB / 30 2nd chance points in the first meeting this season…..with Queta.

How about the size of MIN/CLE? Or NYK? 

There's a strong possibility the Celts bigs rotation for those games is Luka Garza, Xavier Tillman, and Chris Boucher, with Minott/Walsh as small ball 5s

Given the rebounding and rim protection issues that already exist, this could get very ugly very quickly. It sucks too because Queta has been playing the best basketball of his life, but that's just how it goes sometimes. You're always just one turned ankle away from being screwed, especially with a roster like this. It's why the margin for error is so slim. One injury here or there has HUGE implications, given they aren't exactly built to withstand any sort of absence of a main rotation piece.

- Another tough night on the defensive glass, with the Magic finishing with 18 OREB / 21 2nd chance points. I don't care that it didn't cost the Celts a win, we know it will against better (fully healthy) teams. The Celts rebounding has actually gotten better since their 0-3 start, but last night was a step in the wrong direction. Not having Queta explains part of it, but this will continue to be an issue all year. It's part of what you sacrifice when you decide to play small, but I'm not even sure Garza or Tillman help in that department anyway given their rebounding limitations, so I guess you just had to live with it and hope the offensive production makes up for it.

The Ugly

- A good as the offense was, the defense unfortunately was just as poor. Giving up 129 points to that Magic team given who was playing is not what I would call "good". Quarters of 27, 30, 32 and 40 while seeing a 26 point lead get down to 9-11 is not the type of execution that any of us are looking for.

It feels like every game we're seeing the Celts allow a 40 point quarter, no matter who they're playing. Another half of 70+ points, and even if you think some of that shotmaking in the 4th was fake, it still happened. It basically took a just as fake Celtics 2nd quarter to get separation, because for the majority of the night the Celts were unable to get stops and unable to force TOs (7).

As of today, the Celts defense has slid from top 10 down to 16th, and this is before the gauntlet begins. As we know, if this team doesn't defend they die, especially with their current collective shooting issues. This was the tradeoff last night for needing the offense, but it makes me a little nervous they're having these type of defensive performances against teams like the Nets and the shorthanded Magic. It needs to get better quickly.

- Only the Celts could have a 26 point lead and still force us to sweat out the final 6 minutes. Nobody and I mean nobody loves making their lives harder on themselves more than our beloved Boston Celtics. I can't imagine there was a single fan out there that saw the 21 point lead heading into the 4th quarter and didn't know what was coming. Zero chance that was going to be a stress-free quarter, and naturally, things were an 11 point game before you even knew what happened. 

Even when we all know it's coming it still annoys the shit out of me, and sadly we all know this will not be the only time it happens.

- I don't want to speak for everyone, but I'm also going to speak for everyone.

STOP WITH THE FUCKING BULLSHIT ALTERNATE CAMERA ANGLE DURING GAMES. I DON'T GIVE A SHIT IF IT'S SPONSORED OR WHATEVER. IT RUINS THE VIEWING EXPERIENCE, AND ONLY BAD THINGS HAPPEN WHEN YOU SWITCH TO THAT CAMERA ANGLE. WE WAIT ALL DAY TO WATCH THIS TEAM PLAY, STOP FUCKING WITH IT. IN THE EVENT YOU HAVE TO USE IT, STOP RUNNING IT FOR MULTIPLE POSSESSIONS. USE IT FOR ONE POSSESSION AND THEN GO BACK.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk. 

As I said, these next few weeks are a bit of a turning point for the season. If you want to prove you're for real and are going to have a real season, then come out on the other side above .500. If it goes the other way, well, it's time to focus even more on development.