Jaylen Brown hitting threes - not waiting to be an All-Star


We never questioned Jaylen Brown's defense. Sure, he bit too often for pump fakes, but his defense has been solid and reliable. We did question his three-point shooting, however. Well, last night he hit five-of-six from beyond the arc and racked up 22 points in 24 minutes of play. He also added six rebounds. In this morning's NBA TV Game Time broadcast, analyst Rick Kamla broached this past conversation he had with Jaylen:

Rick: "Three to four years down the line you're looking like an All-Star to me."

Jaylen: "Why I gotta wait four years?"



Brown has often been compared to Kawhi Leonard of the San Antonio Spurs, usually with the stipulation that he only gets there if he achieves his total potential. Comparisons to Leonard go back to Jaylen's rookie year. It looks to me that these comparisons are being validated to some extent. Here is NBA TV's Dennis Scott on Jaylen's potential via this mornings' broadcast:

"He (Brown) puts in the work every day. As his jump shot improves, that will determine how soon he becomes an All-Star."



The All-Star package is there. It just needs to be delivered. We are looking at a young man with a perfect physique and transcendent athleticism, who also happens to be extremely intelligent. He tended to play a bit out of control in college and his rookie year in the NBA, but he is learning to not allow the athleticism to get out of hand. And he is perfecting his distance shooting. He needed to do that to reach his potential. Kawhi Leonard? Yes, he can get to that high level. And it may happen much sooner than four years.

Follow Tom at @TomLaneHC

Top photo credit: Jeremy Brevard/USA TODAY Sports
Bottom photo credit: Wendell Cruz/USA TODAY Sports