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Boston Celtics: 3 regular season goals for Jaylen Brown in 2018-19

By Jason Haskins

BOSTON, MA - MAY 23: Jaylen Brown #7 of the Boston Celtics reacts after making a three point basket in the first half against the Cleveland Cavaliers during Game Five of the 2018 NBA Eastern Conference Finals at TD Garden on May 23, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - MAY 23: Jaylen Brown #7 of the Boston Celtics reacts after making a three point basket in the first half against the Cleveland Cavaliers during Game Five of the 2018 NBA Eastern Conference Finals at TD Garden on May 23, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /
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Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics made great strides in his second season, but there are aspects of his game that can still be improved upon.

Team goals might be pretty clear for the Boston Celtics heading into the 2018-19 season. These likely include a division title, posting a winning record on the road and, of course, bringing home banner 18.

Individual goals are more focused – varying from player to player – but the intentions are two-fold. Goals (likely) make the player better, in turn bringing the team right along with them.

And for Jaylen Brown in his third season, there are improvements to be had.

Brown made a giant leap in  2017-18, stepping up as a team leader when needed, especially in the playoffs. His scoring more than doubled, going from 6.6 ppg as a rookie to 14.5 ppg in his second season. Brown saw his shooting percentage go up by a point, his rebounds go up by two per game all while being trusted with the game on the line.

In the playoffs, he only got better. With Kyrie Irving out, Brown averaged 18 points per game. In the Eastern Conference Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers, he poured in 19.7 ppg, four times going over 20 points.

Irving and Gordon Hayward will be back and, with a on-the-rise Jayson Tatum, some of the focus on Brown will be alleviated. Still, he will be expected to continue to get better. And everything in Brown’s attitude points to him striving to improve. Here are three area which improvement might be focused.

Free throw shooting

Here we have the loneliest shot in basketball. And it’s one too often taken for granted.

Free throws are important. This was a lesson was learned the hard way by the Boston Celtics last season, losing a couple of important games that could have been won by shooting 75 percent instead of 65 percent.

Brown was exactly in this situation, shooting 64.4 percent from the line in his second season. The percentage dropped from his rookie year of 68.5 percent.

These numbers, while decent, might be expected more of your classic big man; a player who lived within six-feet of the basket.  With Brown, shooting nearly 50 percent from the field should yield better results from the charity stripe.

Free throws are no doubt stressed in practices and I can imagine Brown worked on this aspect over the summer. Seeing a jump from 64.4 percent would be nice. Rising to 75 percent is a nice goal to have and, if Brown’s scoring stays steady at last season’s numbers, 80 percent would mean a jump in scoring by close to two points per game.

I think 75 percent is a doable regular season goal for Brown in 2018-19.

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