A quick answer to my title question is, "Yes, they are now." I compared Jaylen Brown's assist numbers with former, Celtics star shooting guards and small forwards, The past crew of nine is shown below - with their career assist averages:
Bill Sharman - 3.0 APG
Sam Jones - 2.5
John Havlicek - 4.8
Larry Bird - 6.3
Paul Pierce - 3.5
Ray Allen - 3.4
Danny Ainge - 4.0
Dennis Johnson - 5.0
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Average - 3.7 assists per game
Jaylen's average over seven seasons is 2.2 APG, but he has raised that number to 3.5 APG in his last two seasons. So what does this mean?
Turnovers come into play, and Brown has been known to throw the ball away somewhat often. His assist-to-turnover ratio for last season was 1.2 assists for every turnover committed. A shooting guard or small forward tries to have at least a ratio of 2.0 assists/turnover.
Both Brown and his fellow Jay Team member, Jayson Tatum tied for most turnovers committed in 2022-23 (2.9 per game), partially due to their high minutes. Tatum had more assists than Jaylen (4,6 APG), so his assist-to-turnover ratio is 1.6 A/TO.
In summation, Jaylen Brown is on a par with both Paul Pierce and Ray Allen assist-wise over his last two seasons, but he needs to work on his passing skills, his willingness to give up the ball- and his propensity for coughing up the ball. But he may be getting more heat than he deserves.
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