Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis praise each other and their ‘cookies and cream’ relationship on the court following the Celtics’ win over the Pistons.
On a team chock full of playmakers, Jaylen Brown will forever be more of a finisher than a distributor. But with both Jayson Tatum and Jrue Holiday sitting out Wednesday’s visit from the Detroit Pistons, Brown showed he can do both, piling up a season-high nine assists to go along with game-high 28 points.
One year ago this month, an ESPN social media graphic chided Brown after he attempted 43 field goals without registering an assist over a two-game span last season. Brown pushed back while noting his perpetual drive to improve all areas of his game.
On Wednesday night, those strides in his passing game were on full display. Brown finished with a staggering 17 potential assists, leading to 26 assist points. That’s more than double his season average in both categories, with both marks already way up over his career averages. Just look at his progress since 2021-22 in key passing metrics:
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“I think it’s also a credit to my development,” Brown told reporters after Wednesday’s game. “I improve on things. A lot of my weaknesses in the past I’ve attacked. So being able to run a team and an offense, I look forward to those moments.”
Brown was quick to point out that the Celtics are flush with playmakers, and it’s not always his job to create. Still, he's third on the Celtics in assist points created this season, trailing only Tatum (15.8) and Derrick White (13.1) while sitting one spot ahead of Holiday (10.8).
Having Kristaps Porzingis back on the floor has certainly helped Brown’s assist numbers, too. Boston’s first bucket in Wednesday’s game came when Brown lobbed an alley-oop to Porzingis, the first of Brown's four assists to his "Cookies and Cream" partner.
But that wasn’t his prettiest feed of the night. Drawing a pair of defenders at the basket on a second-quarter baseline drive, Brown zipped a little left-handed swing pass to Al Horford in the corner for a 3-pointer. That combo linked up three times over the second and third quarters, with Brown repeatedly delivering the ball out of traffic to an open Horford.
Brown clearly has improved his ball security in recent seasons, but his ability to create open looks after drawing crowds was highlighted in Wednesday’s game. Brown is capable of bullying his way through defenders but more often makes the right play when opponents stray from shooters.
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Brown’s assist percentage is at a career-high 19.3 percent, ranking in the 83rd percentile among all wings, per Cleaning the Glass data. His turnover percentage is a career-low 9.8 percent, trending towards his first single-digit number of his career.
Those numbers have helped produce a 1.81 assist-to-turnover ratio, which is easily the best mark of his career. Boston’s assist percentage is a robust 64.4 percent during his court time and dips to 57.3 percent without him (only White has a more pronounced on/off split on the team).
Brown’s improvements will float below the radar. It’s more fun to focus on his poster dunks and throat-slashing celebrations than highlight a pass to the corner.
But the growth that Tatum and Brown have both made as passers, especially on their rim reads, is a monster reason why the Celtics have elevated to championship status.
