Can Jaylen Brown Step Up For Celtics in Playoffs Again?

The Boston Celtics need their NBA Finals MVP to step up in the playoffs again this year. Will he be able to do it against a tougher Eastern Conference?

Mar 15, 2025; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) during a game against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images / John Jones-Imagn Images

The Boston Celtics are the second-best team in the Eastern Conference. That's the spot they have occupied all year long despite being the defending NBA champions.

Cleveland has been in the top spot in the East pretty much all season long. That tells the Celtics that they won't be able to walk through the Eastern Conference again as they did last year.

This year, the East is much more dangerous at the top. The conference is much stronger at the top than it was a year ago.

Cleveland, New York, Indiana, and Milwaukee are all viable candidates to come out of the East. Boston has to navigate a path that will likely include at least two of those teams.

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Last season, Jaylen Brown was one of the key players for the Celtics during their run to the title. He was both the Eastern Conference MVP and the NBA Finals MVP.

Brown established that he was one of the best players in the entire NBA, not just on the Celtics. He continues to play great, even after signing a record-breaking contract.

Can he step up in the playoffs again this year? Is he playing well enough this season to help Boston repeat as champions?

The way Brown is playing right now, he certainly looks like he can. While is scoring and shooting stats are down from last year, his rebounding and playmaking is up.

Boston needs players who can step up while some of their starters are hurt. Pretty much the whole season, Boston has played without Kristaps Porzingis.

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The Celtics feel that as long as Brown and Jayson Tatum are healthy and on the court together, they have a chance to win it all for the second straight season.

Brown will have to be even better than he was last year if Porzingis misses most of the playoffs as he did last year. All of the rest of the top teams in the East can beat the Celtics if Porzingis is out.

So far this season, Brown is averaging 22.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 4.7 assists per game.

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