Jaylen Brown Gets Roasted After Missing Uncontested Left-Handed Layup On Twitch Stream

The most common comment was "no left," and this was once the biggest criticism of Brown. He struggled when he was forced to use his left hand, and that was most evident during the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals against the Miami Heat.

Brown averaged 19.0 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.3 blocks per game against the Heat. He also shot just 41.8% from the field and 16.3% from beyond the arc as the Celtics lost in seven games. 

After the series, Heat forward Caleb Martin revealed that the game plan was to keep forcing Brown left. The Celtics star was widely ridiculed for this flaw in his game, but the team still believed in him.

The Celtics gave Brown a supermax extension that offseason, and he rewarded their faith in him. The three-time All-Star was named Eastern Conference Finals MVP and Finals MVP, as the Celtics won the 2024 NBA title.

That had put an end to all the jokes, with the only notable moment it was brought up being when Donovan Mitchell trolled Brown for missing a layup at the 2025 All-Star Game. It was all in good fun, but you'd have thought that tensions would rise between them in a couple of months.

Brown's Celtics and Mitchell's Cleveland Cavaliers were the two best teams in the East in the regular season, and it appeared inevitable they'd face off in the Conference Finals. Neither team would make it that far, though.

The Celtics lost to the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, while the Indiana Pacers eliminated the Cavaliers at the same stage. The injury bug struck both of the heavyweights, but only the Celtics were affected long-term.

Jayson Tatum ruptured his right Achilles tendon in Game 4 against the Knicks and is likely to miss the entire 2025-26 season. The Celtics have also traded away Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis, and are significantly weaker now than they were at this point in 2024.

Brown is going to have a big load on his shoulders, but Celtics icon Bob Cousy doubts he can carry this team.

“In my judgment, Jaylen [Brown] is not quite at the superstar level that [Jayson] Tatum is at,” Cousy said in a chat with the Boston Globe. “Can he carry the load by himself? I see a major rebuilding effort here. Jaylen certainly won’t bring them to the promised land. Derrick White’s a good player and he’ll produce and he’ll be consistent, but his game doesn’t lend itself to carrying a team.”

The Celtics certainly won't be title contenders next season, but it's unlikely they're going to be one of the worst teams in the league either. With how weak the Eastern Conference is, Brown should be able to lead them to one of the play-in spots at least.

Brown averaged 22.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.2 steals, and 0.3 blocks per game in 2024-25 for the Celtics. The 28-year-old had to make sacrifices because of how good the team was, and that won't be the case next season. It will be fascinating to see what kind of numbers Brown puts up now that he's the first option.