Celtics ☘️ Sentinel

 The Celtics Jaylen Brown has been the target of many Boston fans this season, with some of the flak being warranted . But over the last seven games (6-1 record), the criticism has calmed down - for a reason. Over that span, the 6'6" G/F has averaged 24.1 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 5.1 APG (not a misprint), 2.1 TOPG and a plus/minus of +9.4. His 3-point shooting has been a bit off (31.4%) , but his field goal-and-free-throw accuracy (53.1% and 88.0%, respectively) have not. Remember when Jaylen couldn't hit his free throws? And his assist numbers were low while his turnovers came too often. In that 7-game stretch, he took 3.6 free throw attempts per game and made 3.1 of them . And his assist-to-turnover ratio stands at 2.4 assists-per-miscue .  Brown has been curtailing his tendency to force his offense and he is a nightmare for defenders when he drives all the way to the hoop . He is scoring less and passing off more. And he does all of this quietly, although he has clearly state...

  I did the math for you!  This season, the Boston Celtics score 1.14 points for every 3-pointer attempted . They score 1.13 points for every 2-pointer taken . They currently hit 3-pointers at a 37.9% clip - and 2-pointers at 56.3%. So that balances out. But those numbers are averages from 63 games in the regular season. Not from a 7-game series in the playoffs. What happens if those shots from the hinterlands are not falling? Here's the point! Boston ranks 25th in the League (22/game) in free throw attempts , but they rank 3rd in free throw accuracy (82.4%) . They don't go to the line often, but when they do - they put points on the board. Few fouls are given past the arc , but many occur when a player takes it into the paint or shoots from mid-range. Admittedly, the Boys-from-Beantown can hit the long ball, but reliance on that ability in the rigors of the playoffs can prove deadly. Living-and-dieing by the 3-pointer when each-and-every game is critical in the post-season ...