On Thursday, Jaylen Brown returned to the Boston Celtics lineup and scored a season-high 21 points in a 128-100 win.
It was a promising sign from a player who has faced the greatest adversity of his young career early in the season.
After exploding onto the NBA scene in his sophomore season before averaging 18 points per game in Boston’s deep playoff run last year, Brown spent the offseason working hard on his game and expected to expand his role this season.
With Gordon Hayward coming back, and coach Brad Stevens allowing him to work through some early-season kinks, that expanded role hasn’t happened for Brown.