Skip to main content

The Jays have taken flight - as Brian Scabrine predicted

Image
By
It was more than a year ago, in my one-on-one interview with Brian Scalabrine, that Scal was bubbling over with enthusiasm for the future of the Jays, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. When asked about the ceiling of the pair of wings, Brian did not hold back. Stopping short of equating any two players, he did suggest that Tatum had some of Kevin Durant in him, while Brown was similar to Michael Jordan in certain ways. Here are Scal's exact words from my interview:


"It'll be determined on Championships. Jayson can be Kevin Durant-ish. Jaylen can be - gosh - I hate using Michael Jordan, because I don't think he can be Michael Jordan -but the way he plays, and moves - and see how he jumps in the air - ever remember when Jordan would jump and and elevate, kind of float, keep the ball high in the air. Jaylen does that a lot. I hate doing that (Jordan comparison) - Jordan - best player ever - he (Jaylen) can be more of his version of Jordan - more catch-and-shoot - he has that defensive mentality - watch the way they both get in that defensive stance - both those guys (Jay-Team) have a tremendous upside - tremendous - more than anything, it's how hard they work - their mentality - at a young age I look at body and mentality - athleticism - both of those guys have a great head on their shoulders - not good, it's great - (now on Jayson's ceiling) - I always think MVP is always going to be an individual award - but I look at it like First Team All-NBA - if you're in that category, you're really doing something - I can see him flirting with that - I can see him like a Third-Team All-NBA this year - they have blown me away as far as how good they are - and their maturity."

I wrote earlier today that Jayson was most likely heading for his first All-Star game this season. His stat line for the season is a large part of that thinking (21.1 PPG/7.1 RPG/2.7 APG/1.5 SPG). Frankly, Jaylen's line is not far off from Tatum's (19.3 PPG/7.1 RPG/2.0 APG/1.3 SPG), and Brown is hitting 49% of his field goals and 36% on 3-pointers. And he has boosted his free throw percentage to 71%.




Scal did not compare the Jays with Lebron James in any sense, but this statistic does. Jaylen in his fourth season, and Jayson in his third, have not yet reached their ceiling. The best is yet to come.

Follow Tom at @CelticsSentinel, @CausewayStreet and Facebook





Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Elm Street Nightmare

By
 A true-and-suspenseful horror tale of haunting, homicides and the hunt for triple-murderer, Daniel Laplante - as told by the cops that were there By Lt. Thomas Lane (Ret.)  Daniel Laplante - cold, calm, clever, calculating- Photo: YouTube   Elm Street  surfaces on six (6) occasions in the Laplante saga: 1.) He  resided on Elm Street  in Townsend, Massachusetts  2.) He  kidnapped a woman  at gunpoint on  Elm Street, Pepperell , Massachusetts 3.) That kidnapped woman fled to the Gillogly residence on Elm Street after escaping from the armed fugitive, Laplante. 4.) He was arrested and transported to Massachusetts State Police Barracks on Elm Street in Concord . 5.) He was  tried, convicted   and sentenced for the murders at  Superior Court , corner of  Elm Stree t and Gorham Street, Lowell, Massachusetts. 6.) The author, Thomas Lane, lived on Elm Steet, Pepperell, Massachusetts while a police Sgt./Lt. for the t...
19 comments
Read more

In defense of Marcus Smart

By
 Let me make it clear first of all that I am totally against making a threat of any kind that even hints at harming, or certainly killing, another human being. Marcus Smart was wrong in doing so in the Celtics loss to the tanking Oklahoma City Thunder , and he deserved the one-game suspension. But to be honest, part of me loved that it occurred. . This type of thing can happen when a player gets to a point "beyond frustration" and is having a bad game. Marcus and his teammates have been under-performing generally - were in the process of losing to a pathetic-and-tanking Thunder team - and Smart was having a bad game . And he let loose verbally at the closest target - an NBA official. Wilt Chamberlain did a similar act versus referee, Earl Strom when Wilt was having his usual tortuous time at the free throw line (per Chicago Tribune's Sam Smith): ''He was in one of those 1-for-13s,'' recalls referee Earl Strom. ''Nothing was getting close. S...
Post a Comment
Read more

Did the Celtics Kevin McHale really have a wingspan of 8-feet?

By
According to many sources, the Celtics Kevin McHale did indeed have an estimated wingspan of 8-feet. One of those sources is Wikipedia, as seen below: Kevin McHale American basketball player DescriptionKevin Edward McHale is an American retired basketball player who played his entire professional career for the Boston Celtics. He is a Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, and is regarded as one of the best power forwards of all time. He was named to the NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team. Wikipedia Born: December 19, 1957 (age 61 years), Hibbing, MN Wingspan: 8′ 0″ Height: 6′ 10″ Spouse: Lynn McHale (m. 1982) NBA draft: 1980, Boston Celtics (Round: 1 / Pick: 3) Hall of fame induction: 1999 Number: 32 (Boston Celtics / Power forward, Center) Kevin was listed at 6'10" tall when he was drafted with the 3rd pick in the 1980 draft. Red Auerbach, in yet another heist, brought in both McHale and center Robert Parish (via trade) prior to the Celtics' 1980-81 Champion...
Post a Comment
Read more