[Film Room] In NBA Finals Game 3, Jaylen Brown Balanced Scoring and Facilitating, Showing How He Can Raise Celtics' Ceiling

Game 3 of the NBA Finals was arguably the best performance of Jaylen Brown's career.

In the Celtics' 116-100 win over the Warriors in Game 3 of the NBA Finals, Jaylen Brown delivered a team-high 27 points, grabbed nine rebounds, distributed five assists, and only committed two turnovers.

Thursday, discussing Brown's evolution, Ime Udoka expressed, "I think it was one of his best games of getting guys organized into spots he wanted, getting our spacing correct, and then attacking from there. So, I think, it was almost a perfect night as far as the reads he made with his aggression looking to score but also, one-two dribbles and finding guys all over the court."

As Brown pointed out, whether Boston has a successful possession or not stems from its spacing.

"Spacing is the key. We get the floor nice and spaced, (and) you can see everything a lot easier. A lot of times during the year, we'll get on top of each other, and we'll drive, (and) there are no outlets. And that's when you start to see a lot of the turnovers."

In Game 1, a night where Brown produced 24 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and sparked the Celtics' fourth-quarter comeback, he also matched Jordan Poole with a game-high four turnovers.

In the play below, poor spacing allows the Warriors to crowd Brown and account for his outlets, resulting in attempting a floater over Draymond Green while Stephen Curry's tight to him, and since it airballs, when Brown collects his miss, it's a travel.

Here, in Game 2, Gary Payton II does a good job staying in front of Brown, who goes too deep into the paint, and aside from Al Horford's basket cut, everyone else is stationary beyond the arc. If Derrick White rotates to the right-wing, he'll either create an easier kick-out pass for Brown or take Otto Porter with him, making it more likely the ball gets to Horford.

But in Game 3, Brown was in control, consistently finding the right pace to operate at and getting his team organized. In this next play, he tries to catch Draymond Green off guard by attacking before the screen's set, but instead of settling for a long two, he pulls the ball out. Brown then directs Horford to stay at the left wing, purposefully shoots the gap, forcing Andrew Wiggins to rotate over, and dishes to Horford for a three.

Below, with Curry on Horford in the low post, Brown delivers the entry pass right as the scram switch happens to get Porter onto Horford. The pass leads Horford baseline, allowing him to faceup as he gets the ball, and he gets his shoulder into Porter to create separation for an easy basket.

Keeping the offense organized also made it easier for Brown to produce points himself. Here, he waves off the screen from White, he's strong with the ball as he attacks middle, and Brown euro-steps his way into a floater.

Brown drilled four of his eight three-point attempts in Game 3; no one would have blamed him for launching this potential shot off the catch. Instead, with the Warriors playing small and Horford's screen on Wiggins forcing Green to switch onto Brown, he jab steps, again is strong with the ball as Green swipes at it, and with Green now flat footed and coming out of his stance, Brown stays low and beats him to the other side of the rim for a layup off the glass.

Throughout this playoff run, Brown has praised Ime Udoka for trusting him with the ball in his hands more than it happened in previous seasons. In Game 3, he showed how high his ceiling is if empowered with that responsibility, keeping the offense organized, taking care of the ball, and balancing when to score and distribute. If Brown continues to play like he did Wednesday, it will go a long way towards the Celtics' title hopes, now and moving forward.

Further Reading

Tony Parker Sizes Up the NBA Finals, Talks Ime Udoka and His Collaboration with MTN Dew LEGEND

Celtics' Playoff Run Highlighting Robert Williams' Impact and Maturation: 'We're very fortunate to have a guy like that'

Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown's Defensive Commitment Helps Enforce Celtics' Culture

The Top 5 Plays of Game 3 of NBA Finals Between Celtics and Warriors

Celtics Feed Off Home Crowd in Game 3 Win Over Warriors: 'They give us so much energy and so much juice'

What Stood Out in Game 3 of the NBA Finals: Celtics More Assertive on Both Ends; Earn 2-1 Lead

The Anatomy of the Celtics' Fourth-Quarter Comeback in Game 1 of NBA Finals