Jaylen Brown has been the Celtics' most consistent scorer in their second-round playoff series against the Philadelphia 76ers, and with Boston's season on the line in Thursday night's Game 6, the All-NBA guard needs to be even more involved in the team's offense.
Brown leads the Celtics in 3-point percentage and ranks second on the team in field goal percentage among players averaging 15-plus minutes per game in the postseason. He has scored 20-plus points in nine of the Celtics' 11 playoff games so far, including every matchup of the Sixers series.
Eddie House delivers strong message for Celtics ahead of Game 6
Despite his efficient scoring in the playoffs, Brown has not taken enough shots in the second half of these games against the 76ers. In the Celtics' Game 5 loss that put them in a 3-2 series hole, Brown made 9-of-16 shots (3-of-6 from 3-point range) and scored 23 points. He was one of the few Celtics players who consistently attacked the Sixers defense by driving to the basket and finishing at the rim. Jayson Tatum shot the ball 27 times and made just 11, including a 3-for-11 rate from 3-point range.
The Celtics need to get more shots for Brown in Game 6 if they're going to win at Wells Fargo Center and extend their season to a Game 7 on Sunday in Boston.
ESPN's Stephen A. Smith had some pretty simple advice for the Celtics ahead of their must-win Game 6 on Thursday night: "Get the damn ball to Jaylen Brown."
Check out his reasoning in the "First Take" video below:
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The Celtics faced elimination four times in the 2022 playoffs -- Game 6 and Game 7 vs. the Bucks, Game 7 vs. the Heat and Game 6 vs. the Warriors -- and Brown averaged 24.8 points on 50 percent shooting in those contests. Boston won the first three of those four games.
Tip-off for Celtics-Sixers Game 6 is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.