"Worse handle than Russell Westbrook ... middle-school handles" - Shannon Sharpe rips Jaylen Brown after miserable outing in Game 7
After a great outing in Game 6 from Jaylen Brown, he was unable to continue off of that performance as he struggled for the duration of Game 7.
Shannon Sharpe spoke on "Skip and Shannon: Undisputed" as he made a comparison between the handles of Russell Westbrook and Jaylen Brown.
"Jaylen Brown has turned into a turnover machine, I found someone that has a worse handle than Russell Westbrook. I don't think you can debate that. You're an NBA player, a second team All-NBA player, and you have middle-school handles."
His miserable Game 7 outing mirrored his sloppy turnovers in the Finals, which was one of the reasons the Celtics struggled against the Warriors. In the regular season, Jaylen Brown finished with more turnovers at an average of 2.9, which is more than his two previous seasons at an average of 2.7.
Brown's consistent improvement with his shooting and rebounding along with making the proper reads and plays have all been evident each season. The problem, however, lies with his inconsistent handles.
His handles further need to improve and making proper decisions on the half-court are aspects to his game that need work in the offseason.
However, the Celtics also have to consider that Brown might be looking for the supermax extension this summer. He is eligible to sign a five-year, $295 million contract extension before heading into next season.
This is in the scenario that Jaylen Brown and the Celtics can't find a common ground in the scenario the organization decides to not give him the max. Trading Brown is a scenario the Celtics can explore, but would not make a whole lot of sense.
The player is entering the prime years of his career at 26 years of age, similar to Tatum at 25 years of age. The team can always build the offense around Tatum but one superstar in today's NBA landscape won't be enough to compete for a championship. Two elite wings that are also two-way players are not easy to create or find in today's league.
That being said, the Celtics still have to address a number of roster issues and needed help in coach Joe Mazzulla's coaching staff.
Jaylen Brown following the disappointing finish to the Celtics' season
After climbing back from 3-0 deficit, the Celtics were not able to handle their business at home as the Heat won with a score of 103-84. Jaylen Brown finished with 19 points on (8-of-23 shooting, including 1-of-9 from 3-point range) and also had 8 rebounds and 5 assists with 8 turnovers.
Following the loss, Brown spoke to the media to address his subpar outing and future with the team moving forward and said:
"I expected to win today and move on. That's what my focus was on, that's what my focus has been on. We failed. I failed. We let the whole city down. Offensively we weren't at our best and defensively we were decent, but not good enough. And it's hard to think about anything else right now. To be honest, we'll cross that bridge when we get there."