Will Jaylen Brown use All-NBA snub as further playoff motivation? originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Despite producing the most efficient two-way season of his eight-year career for a team that raced away from the rest of the NBA, Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown did not earn any postseason hardware for his 2023-24 season.
Just hours after being denied a spot on the All-Defense team, Brown forced a late-game turnover that saved the Celtics from a Game 1 loss in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Indiana Pacers. Just hours after hitting the biggest shot of his career, a 3-pointer that forced overtime in Game 1, Brown was snubbed from the 15-man All-NBA team.
The only real question isn’t if Brown, an All-NBA Second-Teamer one year ago, deserved greater consideration for both awards. It’s will he take out any frustrations on opponents for the rest of Boston’s stay in the 2024 playoffs?
Brown making the All-Defense team was absolutely a long shot, even if teammate Al Horford was adamant that Brown deserved a spot on that squad. Still, Brown routinely took on the challenge of defending the opposing team’s best scorer and produced his most consistent defensive season. He was an afterthought in voting.
Being left off the All-NBA team feels far more egregious. Brown was a key part of Boston’s regular-season domination in which the Celtics finished 14-plus games ahead of every team in the Eastern Conference, and seven-plus games ahead of everyone in the league.
Boston finished 15 games ahead of the Phoenix Suns, and 17 games ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers. Both those teams placed two players on the All-NBA squads, including Suns guard Devin Booker, who snagged the final spot in media voting.
Brown was the first man out, totaling 50 points while landing on roughly half of the 99 total ballots submitted (all third-place votes). Booker spotted on 56 ballots, including seven second-team nods, helping him total 70 points. The Suns were bounced in the first round of the playoffs.
Jaylen Brown snubbed in All-NBA. He was the top vote-getter among those that didn’t land on an All-NBA team.
64 wins. 7+…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/jaylen-brown-nba-snub-further-154106062.html
Author : NBC Sports Boston
Publish date : 2024-05-23 15:41:06
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.