Jaylen Brown Continues To Play The Best Basketball Of His Life At A Time When It's Needed More Than Ever

Brian Babineau. Getty Images.

Let's just say the obvious part first. Thank Christ we did not have to mentally deal with losing back to back games to the Pacers. That would have been bad. It was annoying enough losing their matchup a few games ago 98-96 after the NBA later admitted they blew a call on the Siakam game winner (sick league Adam Silver!), so potentially losing to that same team again, this time at home with Jaylen Brown playing would have been what I would call….a bit of a disaster.

Thankfully, in what has historically been a tough game to win (first game back from a long road trip), the Celts remain undefeated in that spot which is just another reason why they continue to be one of the most hilarious basketball teams ever assembled. Awesome on no rest or short rest and also in very common trap games, but awful on 2+ days rest. Makes sense!

As is the case any time the Celts beat a tanking or bottom of the league team, it's not even really about them. These are mostly just the games on your schedule that should you fancy yourself a contender, you stack up. A team that wins in the 50s more often than not is able to handle the worst teams in the league, and those wins are what really help boost your total. If you clean up on the bottom of the league and are competent against the good teams, you're going to find yourself flirting with 50+ wins and a top 4 seed. That's just how the math tends to work out.

Through 43 games, that's pretty much what is happening for the 2025-26 Celtics. They've played the fewest games against under .500 teams than any current top 4 seed in the East (and tied for the fewest in the top 4 in the West with SA) and sit at 14-4. I'll have you know, that is the fewest losses of any team in the top 7 in the East.

Against good teams, the Celts sit at 13-12, which is the 2nd most wins in the conference (DET). Basically, they've been competent.

Their win pace? 51 wins

Their seed? 2 seed, up 2 losses on NYK

Giphy Images.

Winning games like last night brings me more relief than anything else. It's a game they should win, and they did. If we're being honest, since that awesome West Coast trip, the Celts are only 5-4. That stinks. A handful of close losses in there sure, but my mental health needed a good old fashion ass whooping against a bad team just to cleanse the palate. Looking ahead, this is the part of the Celts' schedule where they really should be stacking Ws, and it starts by winning the games you should win

So in the end, everyone got what they wanted. The Pacers got the loss they needed and want given their season direction, and the Celts stacked another win to help bump their win total, which is important given their season direction. Wins all around, even if the Pacers technically got the loss. It was a pleasure doing business, but unfortunately this was the final time these two teams will meet this season (Cs went 3-1).

With that said, let's dive in.

The Good

- As is my standard for whenever the Celts play a bad team at home, especially coming off a loss, it is my belief that these are the games your best player not only steps up, but assures you will not lose. Other people don't have to feel that way, but that's how I've always felt the #1 guy had to operate in this spot. It's largely his responsibility to ensure that things do not snowball, and a losing streak starts. That's how I felt as a kid during the Pierce Era, it's how I felt during the Isaiah Era, and it's how I've felt during the Jays Era. 

So what did we get? 

Backed up his 32/11/2 against the Pistons with a solid 30/10/5 on 11-22 (1-2) shooting in his 34 minutes. I continue to hate the TO issue (5) that has been creeping up for about a month now, but in life, nobody is perfect. I'd prefer those go down to around 3ish a game, but as long as the majorty of them are dead ball and not live ball turnovers, I guess I can stomach it given everything else Jaylen is providing on both ends of the floor.

As the #1 guy in a spot like this, part of the gig is that you play a complete game. You need to impact the game in a wide variety of ways, outside of just scoring. You have to be the standard. 

Aside from leading the Celtics in scoring (30), Jaylen also led in rebounds (10), steals (3), was 2nd on the team in assists (5). I thought his shot balance was much better this time around, living at the 22 FGA range as opposed to closer to 30, and I thought his shot profile played to his strengths perfectly

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He was aggressive, he played off two feet, and given the fact that the Pacers don't really have the defenders to stay in front and keep Jaylen from getting to where he wants to go, I really enjoyed the fact that he didn't settle. That's probably what also helped him take a team leading 9 FTAs, and if you're telling me Jaylen is going to live at around 50% from the floor and take 9 FTA a game, we clean up the TOs and we're cooking with gas.

- It will always confuse me how Sam Hauser will go into a little mini slump and so many Celts fans lose their minds and demand he be traded or he stinks or whatever fake outrage there is. They forget this man is a LIFETIME 40% SHOOTER. Those things are not normal. You do not sell off that piece for big depth that probably won't make a difference. You keep this skillset for when your best player returns.

The Celts are now 13-3 when Hauser makes at least 3 3PM, which feels pretty easy to do considering the guy barely misses. I wasn't sure how to feel about Joe inserting Hauser back into the 4 spot once Walsh snapped out of his funk, but this is yet another example of Joe being smarter than all of us and continuing to push all the right buttons this season. It's not a stretch to say that when you also factor in his defensive improvement and rebounding improvement that we're watching Sam Hauser play the best basketball of his career at the moment. Sliding him back into the starting spot has worked, and the guy is on a typical Sam Hauser-esq heater

You'll never believe this, but the lifetime 40% shooter is back to shooting 40.3% from deep this season. Oh, and you have him signed long term for $10M a year. Between the skillset and the value, you have to be giving me close to a blue chip player for me to be willing to part with Sam Hauser in any deal. Zubac? No. Claxton? No. Sorry.

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If there's one thing I want on the roster for when Tatum returns, it's a fuck ton of shooting and spacing. I put more value on that than big depth, and I think it's important that we all remember what makes the Celtics so devastating when the Jays are on the court together. You have 2 options as an opposing defense:

1. Death by allowing Tatum/Brown to get to the rim

2. Death by blocking off the rim and allowing open 3s to 40% shooters

No need to overcomplicate things. Especially when we have this version of Hauser at our disposal. 

- For my money, one of the best stories of this entire season has been the development of Neemias Queta. Heading into the season, I think most of us were hoping that what we watched in EuroBasket would translate to the NBA season. It was a great opportunity for Queta to show that not only could he be a rotation level center, but there was a real path for him to becoming even more.

Allow me to show you what even more looks like

Not only has Queta proven to be a rotational center, but he's also proving to be starting caliber center in the NBA. This is fact, not opinion. Not only has he shown to be one of the best defensive centers in the league this season (another fact), but we're also starting to see the hardest part of a jump that a young player can make.

Consistency.

It's not about being good here and there. It's about being good every night. This doesn't mean perfect. This doesn't mean there won't be mistakes. But can you do your job on a consistent basis? That's usually what separates starters from bench players, and I'm sorry but Neemy has been one of the more consistent players all season long when it comes to his role

Considering many of us thought we were about to witness the worst frontcourt situation in the NBA this season, what we've actually gotten from both Queta and Garza is sneaky insane. It's why I'm not really sure why there are some out there that think Queta sucks or isn't a starter caliber center. What are they watching? 

The one thing I will say is the final step in Queta's development is his ability to catch the ball. That needs to improve, but it's no different to my brain than when Luka Kornet couldn't catch shit. He fumbled every single pass. But you know what happende right around Year 3 of him getting rotation minutes? That problem went away. I have no reason to think the same won't happen for Queta's development. At the moment, he still fumbles passes a little too frequently for my liking, but once that gets cleaned up? Look out. 

Neemy continues to be more than solid in P&R where he's putting up 1.35 ppp and ranks in the 80th percentile as a roll man, and now picture what those sets look like with Tatum initiating. Exciting right? He's 4th in the entire NBA in screen assists. He protects the rim. Everything about Neemy's season has been the ideal result, and now that it's also happening on a consistent basis is very, very important when we think of the future of the roster, knowing that he's locked up for $2M.

- All three of the guards shot like shit, but I do not think that means they played like shit. I know that's how a majority of the fanbase determines whether or not someone "played well", but that will never make sense to me. There are a billion ways you can impact a game an impact winning, even if you shoot poorly. 

I would say that's exactly what the guard trio did

Would I have liked some better efficiency, especially on the open 3s? Of course. But I care more about whether or not you made a positive impact in your minutes above anything else, and that's what happened. Against a better team you probably can't have 3 of your best offensive options shoot that poorly, but regular season games are about just finding a way to win. It doesn't always have to be pretty, it won't always come via shotmaking, and overall I thought the guards were solid.

Pritchard had another 8 AST low TO game, Derrick's defense was great, and I would also say the same was true for Simons. I continue to love how much more active he is on that end, especially off ball. We're seeing him come away with a weakside steal or two every game now it feels like, and that is NOT something that was happening when he first got here. 

- I feel confident that Jordan Walsh is going to make an All NBA Defensive team in my lifetime. You can just see it. On a night where Siakam was pretty much cooking any matchup he faced, it was notable that in 8 possessions against Walsh he finished with only 3 points. Walsh shut that water off pretty quickly given he's able to contest and recover so easily due to his length, and whatever "rookie wall" he may have been dealing with during his mini-slump seems to be over

- Everything about Hugo

The second this player steps on the floor, he makes a winning impact. It's truly remarkable. Some players just find a way to impact winning, and Hugo has that shit in spades. The fact that it's already happening to this level while he's only 19 is not exactly normal, and honestly, the Celts probably could have used a little more of this in the Pistons game.

The Bad

- Not a ton to choose from in a game the Celts led by 23 and only had 2 ties and 4 lead changes, but I will say one thing I continue to monitor and be annoyed with is the Celts OREB/2nd chance points issues.

Overall, they won the rebounding battle 54-42 because the Pacers couldn't shoot for shit, but they did allow 13 OREB for 18 2nd chance points. That's a tad high for my liking. Giving up around 18-20 2nd chance points to a team with a pulse will usually result in a loss, as we've seen happen numerous times this season. 

Obviously, with the volume of shots the Pacers took (94 vs 88) there are bound to be some long rebounds or plays where you are out of position, so it's not so much the 13 OREBs (which is a fine number) and more the fact that the Celts were giving up points on those extra possessions.

- As I said, the 11-30 (3-13) from the guards is not exactly what I would call #good shooting production. 

I really feel for Derrick, because you can see when he misses an open 3 he's starting to hang his head, which means his slump is impacting his brain. When you start thinking, that only makes things worse as a shooter. You can understand why given the fact that he's shooting 24% from deep this month, and I'm not sure there's a player on the roster that needs to see one go in more than DWhite. 

- This doesn't really have anything to do with last night, but I would just like to say whatever weird thing is happening in the Celtics universe right now when it comes to Tatum and Brown playing together again might be the dumbest fucking shit I've ever seen.

All this fear mongering about "fit" and "role" and "coexisting"….I am begging these people to just shut the fuck up. What are we doing? It's not 2019. We have nearly a DECADE of these two players coexisting and thriving at the highest level in the league. Instead, people are talking about ego, changing the system, all this bullshit that is not real. Sorry, it's just not. 

Is it because this season has been so great that there's this need to try and create this pointless and unecessary drama? It's not just fans either. It's the media as well, and I simply do not understand it. 

How will things look when Tatum is back? Probably the same way it has for a decade! My guess is the players will do whatever is required to win on any given night. There is no set-in-stone role or offense. That's what makes the Celtics so hard to beat with Tatum and Brown on the floor together. How many more times do we need to see them both drop 30 in the same game or talk about how they only care about winning, or openly support one another to realize that this is NON-ISSUE?

It's almost as if everyone has completely forgotten what the last 10 years have looked like. So fucking bizarre to me. 

Once Tatum has his legs under him, it'll be business as usual. So much is being talked about like this is going to cause more problems, and I'm sitting here wondering what the hell would adding a top 5 player to the mix who makes EVERYONE'S life easier leads one to think this will be bad or an issue? I would argue it's going to make the things Jaylen has thrived at this season even better. We all love his midrange game right? Well now imagine it with the defense having to worry about Tatum and how much space that creates. They don't have to change a thing about the approach for either guy. 

If anything, the adjustment will come from the guards being the ones who initiate things this season to moving back off ball, which isn't a hard transition to make. 

The Ugly

- Didn't exactly love the stretch of the 3rd quarter were we saw the 23 point lead get down to 9, but that's the NBA for ya. A game of runs as they say. Fortunately the Celts were able to punch back each time the Pacers made a push, but that doesn't mean I have to sit here and tell you how annoying it was to have to semi-sweat out a game in which the Celts built another 20+ point lead. Thankfully they showed up in the 4th quarter and things never really got dicey, but that was certainly pretty annoying.

A huge stretch of that run came when Jaylen checked out and the White/Simons lineup couldn't make a shot, which I would imagine won't happen all that often. Then again, we are currently dealing with the fact that we're seeing the Celts score 4 points in half a quarter in what seems like every game, so who knows. Tatum solves these issues anyway because once he's back the Jays will just be staggered, so we just have to grind our way through it.

So in the end? A win is a win and it's time to keep stacking Ws. Not the best the Celts have ever played, and they still put up 119. I'll take it.