Is it time to Hack-a-Jaylen?

Jaylen Brown has improved in nearly every statistical category from last season. Heck, at the beginning of the year, he was in the conversation to win Most Improved Player. Of course, these increased numbers have a lot to do with the fact that he's received 14 more minutes per game than last season, but still, he was turning heads with his performance early on, and is still impressing now, just to a slightly lesser degree.

2016-2017 averages: 6.6 points, 45% FG, 34% 3PT, 2.8 rebounds, 0.8 assists
2017-2018 averages: 14 points,  46% FG, 39% 3PT, 5.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists

One area where Jaylen hasn't ameliorated, is in one of the 'easier' basketball skillsets: free throw shooting! Now, Jaylen wasn't a great foul-shooter last year. He only drained .685 percent of those shots in his debut season, but this year, he's one of the worst free-throw shooters in the entire NBA! 

And that's among notoriously atrocious centers, like Andre Drummond and DeAndre Jordan. Yes, you read that correctly: Jaylen Brown is a worse charity-stripe hitter than the two centers named above, and keep in mind that Andre Drummond has the worst career free-throw percentage of all time (excluding this season), at a terrible 38%. To be fair to the big man in Detroit, Drummond has improved his shooting from the line drastically this season, and is currently shooting a career best .630 percent. 

Let's get down to the ugly truth. 

First, the bad news: at this moment, Jaylen is the fourth-worst free throw shooter among non-centers who have shot at least fifty times from the line this season. He's currently shooting at a .565 clip. 

The good news is that the shooters below him in the rankings are guys that most of us are rooting against. They include: the snot-nosed, bratty, appointment canceler that is Josh Jackson; Jayson Tatum's greatest rookie rival in Ben Simmons; and lastly, Lavar the Loudmouth Bass' son, Lonzo Ball. 

I wouldn't be surprised if Jaylen shot a million FTs every day this offseason in an attempt to boost those numbers. In fact, I'm sure that next season he'll be much better from the stripe, because this percentage is something that can't be ignored, and you can bet your ass that he'll nip this issue in the bud. We all saw how committed he was to stepping up his game last offseason and playoffs when he was the first and last one in the gym.

But my lord, if he keeps this up, he'll be one of the worst free throw shooters of all time. Right now, considering the season and a half that he's been in the league, Jaylen's career FT% is .625. That is the 44th worst career free throw percentage ever. EVER! It's just a few notches away from Kendrick Perkins and Dennis Rodman.

All in all, Jaylen is one of the worst in the league in this area, and it's something that he needs to work on. He's a sophomore, so he has plenty of time to adjust and improve, and it's not something that will keep him out of the Hall of Fame or anything. But I mean, damn. Some of these names that you see him next to on the stat sheet are worrisome. For some more perspective, Jayen's season is worse that Dwight Howard's career percentage. Jaylen's .565 is inferior to Dwight's .568. Gross.

My last tidbit. Isaiah Thomas shot 90% last season. In his two games back from injury, he's 5 for 9 from the line, .556 percent. Queue the headline: Will Isaiah Ever be the Same Again!?!?

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Photo: NBC Sports
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