Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown was called for 10 offensive fouls in the seven-game series against the Philadelphia 76ers, twice as many as any other player (Jalen Duren, Karl-Anthony Towns, Stephon Castle) in the opening round of this year’s NBA playoffs. Brown accused the referees of having “an agenda” against him barely 24 hours after the C’s blew a 3-1 series lead for the first time in franchise history.
On Wednesday, Brown doubled down on his criticism of the officials, even after being fined $50,000 for questioning the integrity of the game. However, this time, Brown took a cheap shot at Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the reigning NBA MVP.
“They’re probably gonna fine me another 50K after this, but that was what I had to say,” Brown said on his Twitch stream of criticizing officials.
“I had to say something. There’s an inconsistency, and it’s there. You called me for all these offensive fouls, and that’s not the reason why we lost, but Shai is about to win his second MVP with the same move.”
Jaylen Brown Not on SGA’s Level
Brown was referencing SGA’s ability to draw fouls and get to the charity stripe with his crafty and herky-jerky moves that invariably get defenders off balance.
However, Brown failed to highlight several statistical markers that make SGA a significantly better offensive player than him.
For one, Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 13.2 points off drives to the rim in these playoffs, while Brown averaged 8.2 points while attacking the rim against the Sixers. The refs have rewarded SGA more because he breaks down a defense and gets to the cup more consistently, while Brown often settles for contested jumpers.
Second, SGA has shot a terrific 57.5% on his drives through five games thus far, while Brown shot 44.6% on his drives against the Sixers. Again, the refs have every reason to reward SGA for the efficiency with which he scores after blowing past defenders.
Also worth highlighting is that Brown shot 42% on pull up jumpers in seven games against the 76ers, while SGA is shooting 49.1% on such shots. Why does this stat matter? Technically, it doesn’t, but it illustrates that SGA isn’t as dependent on getting to the line for his offense as Brown and other detractors have suggested.
Jaylen Brown: A Sore Loser?
It’s one thing for Brown to criticize the referees and to accuse Joel Embiid of being a flopper. But he crosses the line to that of a “sore loser” when he tries to take the shine off of SGA, the most efficient scoring machine the sport has seen since Michael Jordan.
SGA has averaged more than 30 points on 50% shooting for four straight seasons. This year, a little over half of his 2,1117 points in the regular season came from free throws. Is that a lot? Yes. But he also shot a career-high 55.3% from the field and 38.6% from three, while Brown shot 47.7% fromt he field and 34.7% from three. Perhaps when Brown can shoot as efficiently as SGA, he’ll get the same whistles from the referees.
His former teammate, Jeff Teague, was right. Brown really sounds like a sore loser.
Jaylen Brown Takes Cheap Shot at SGA Amid ‘Sore Loser’ Accusations