Actually the four point stance is absolutely the best for getting off the line in a race quickly which is why you see it used in every sprinting race ever.Jaylen ran close with Bouye in the second race, even though he didn't know the proper stance to get off the line quickly. Very impressive. Bouye has run a 4.45,
No effing way. Everyone needs to stay healthy this year.Jaylen seems like he'd be a good red zone option for the Patriots. Can he have weekends off?
Yes, facing triple coverage would be exhausting.No effing way. Everyone needs to stay healthy this year.
So with Tatum leading the team in scoring last night and being a stud, Jaylen is again being overshadowed a bit. Aside from ending Embiid's career, how did people think he looked? Switching between the Sox and C's made it hard to key in on him and spot any improvements to his handle or passing.
It came up in the game thread but I think it needs to be reiterated here. I am tired of him getting fouled nearly every time he cuts to the hoop or elevates without there being a single call. You'd look like shit too if every player on the other team could hack you or step through you with impunity every time you put the ball on the floor or launched to the basket. His three ball didn't fall but other than that I thought he played pretty well offensively through all of the contact.I thought he looked like shit, tbh. I’m hoping it was just a mediocre game and he gets into the swing of things.
It came up in the game thread but I think it needs to be reiterated here. I am tired of him getting fouled nearly every time he cuts to the hoop or elevates without there being a single call. You'd look like shit too if every player on the other team could hack you or step through you with impunity every time you put the ball on the floor or launched to the basket. His three ball didn't fall but other than that I thought he played pretty well offensively through all of the contact.
If someone would like to criticize his D I didn't watch that as closely because I was flying to catch up to live on DVR after the Sox game and didn't watch all of the Philly possessions in the first half.
He looked rusty — which is to say worse than in last years playoffs. It was a bit of a contrast to last year where he came out right away and looked light years better than the previous year.
Let’s give him a week or two before we judge if he made another offseason leap. After that he’ll hopefully have 75 games to grow as a player before the playoffs.
This is a fair evaluation. He isn't a primary scorer and not likely to ever be one. He has some upside to create offense for himself, but he's clearly better playing off of other players. I was probably more down on him than most on draft night (I think only Bowiac thought worse of him than I did, luckily we were both wrong), but he's exceeded my expectations.I thought that he looked fine at both ends. He's not the kind of shot creator that Tatum is. There will be more ebb and flow from game to game, depending on what the defense is giving him. Definitely worth giving him at least a handful of games before drawing any conclusions.
He is currently tied for sixth in the league in 3P% so one of his three-balls fell.His three ball didn't fall but other than that I thought he played pretty well offensively through all of the contact.
I think we're all fans of his. Every time someone here or in the media posits yet another trade for Kawhi/Butler/AD and includes Jaylen I shudder a little because I don't want to let him go. I just wanted to specifically call this(the constant mugging) out because it seemed more egregious last night than in my memory of last year. We agree that he can still work on his game, that his instincts can be spotty and that he sometimes makes a boneheaded play but I love his effort, tenacity and fearlessness and I really want to see him explode here in Boston even if it's as Pippen to Tatum's Jordan.I guess it comes down to how you evaluate his ability/instinct/decision making with respect to playing through or dealing with contact. If it’s all the refs fault and he was mugged, I guess he played fine. I thought he was making some poor choices. I don’t want to give him too many insults because I’m a huge fan.
End of last season there was no Irving, no Hayward, and a not-quite otherworldly Tatum.Jaylen has been horrible the first five games. It looks like he's rushing his scoring opportunities. I thought he had things figured out by the end of last season.
Even with the struggles, I don't see this team losing 8 games out of 18. As we saw at OKC, if they play defense consistently, all they have to do is put together eight good minutes of offense and close a game strong and they can win, even on a night where they look horrible for a lot of the game.Game 19 is the day after Thanksgiving. Game 33 is Christmas. I think that will be the stretch where they reach cruising altitude. Until then, I expect 10-8 or 9-9.
I thought he played well early on the defensive end, and at least 4 of his missed 3's tonight were literally off the back rim. His shot actually looks fine, they just aren't going down. The one he did make he was kind of rushed, as the shot clock was winding down, and he buried it. The others were all wide open, good looks, and he was an inch or two strong. Contrast that to Rozier who is hitting the backboard, the side of the rim, the shot clock, etc.So.....what is going in here?
My favorite Celtic, but man this is rough.
I feel our entire starting unit is guilty of this. They are trying to find a balance between selflessness and aggression which results in uncertainty (and thinking) in a game of reaction.I wonder if he's thinking too much.
Agree.I feel our entire starting unit is guilty of this. They are trying to find a balance between selflessness and aggression which results in uncertainty (and thinking) in a game of reaction.
Spot on.I feel our entire starting unit is guilty of this. They are trying to find a balance between selflessness and aggression which results in uncertainty (and thinking) in a game of reaction.
Thanks for posting.Long Jackie Mac piece on Jaylen, early struggles, moving to the bench, and more:
http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/25502202/jaylen-brown-new-journey-why-important-boston-celtics-nba
Lots of good quotes from Jaylen, Kyrie, Brad, Smart, Ainge, etc.
The quotes from Kyrie, Smart etc are all surprising but they're also categorically different from Stevens saying anything like that. And frankly, I think Kyrie's quotes are perfect peer-leadership material:"I'm not worried about Jaylen at all," Ainge says. "He's a terrific player. Give me 80 games. I might care by the time we get to the playoffs, but the kid is 22 years old with a ton of upside. The criticism has been ridiculous."
He goes on, further, about his own accountability and leadership. Let us never again question the public eloquence or basic EQ of Kyrie Irving."I have such high expectations for a guy like Jaylen, knowing how smart he is off the court, knowing his intellect, how he likes to be challenged," Irving says. "On the court, you just know there's so much more for him. You can see how much better he can get.
"I don't think Jaylen has ever been challenged in this way. When you're challenged sometimes, and you've been only doing it for three years, you can question a lot of things. You question yourself, and your confidence wavers because everything you've been doing up to this point has worked. You're used to doing little things to get you out of a rut, but suddenly that's not happening.
"You find yourself in a situation where every single day you are demanded to be great. That's a hard journey for anybody in this league, and to have that much talent and not be able to showcase it, I'm sure it is tough on him.
"I definitely understand it. I'm empathetic, and I'm also patient."
But he's also unafraid, he says, to get in Brown's grille: "I think he deserves that. In my career, I've had the opportunity to play with another great player who demands greatness out of you every single day. That comes with certain expectations. Sometimes you don't know exactly what those expectations are until you experience them. And that's what Jaylen is dealing with now.
"It's not about how many shots he's making or percentages or stats or anything like that. Now it's about, 'How do you get out of your own way to become the best version of yourself in an environment with other great players?' You're not in an environment where we can wait around for you. You're not surrounded by decent players who you will automatically play over, no matter how you perform. Now you have to work because other guys are putting in their work, trying to accomplish a goal bigger than themselves.
"The beautiful thing about Jaylen is he's smart enough to figure this out. He's in a transitional year."
I don't know what stat has him as 23rd worse, but DRPM puts him 11th best among shooting guards.If someone rates as one of the worst, or one of the best, in a particular defensive metric - it may not mean that they are as good or as bad as the metric shows, but it is very rare for it to be completely opposite of what is being shown. So while Jaylen may not be actually the 23rd worse defender in the league, it is doubtful that he was performing as an above average defender in those first 20 games
I read it as the Celtics stretching him defensively, in the same way you'll give a young guy more offensive load to force him to expand his game, even if it's not optimal for that particular game.If someone rates as one of the worst, or one of the best, in a particular defensive metric - it may not mean that they are as good or as bad as the metric shows, but it is very rare for it to be completely opposite of what is being shown. So while Jaylen may not be actually the 23rd worse defender in the league, it is doubtful that he was performing as an above average defender in those first 20 games
It was in the linked Jackie piece (I misread it as DRPM - my bad)I don't know what stat has him as 23rd worse, but DRPM puts him 11th best among shooting guards.
Exactly! Players individual numbers are often a product of their role and how well it fits their game and/or exposes them to show their weaknesses.I read it as the Celtics stretching him defensively, in the same way you'll give a young guy more offensive load to force him to expand his game, even if it's not optimal for that particular game.