A few days ago, Jaylen Brown talked about how he is studying Paul Pierce’s game. Watching how he gets to his spot. Learning how to play at a slower pace. Brown and Pierce have very different skill sets, and yet, there are some similarities between them.
One of them is that, despite not being the best player on their team, they were the Finals MVP in the only Finals they won—thanks to high scoring volume and defending the opponent’s best player. JB made a statement during the last Finals with his defense on Luka Dončić, and back in 2008, PP had one of the best individual defensive performances against Kobe Bryant (not to mention going up against LeBron James earlier in the playoffs). Nonetheless, this is more storytelling than anything else – so what can Jaylen Brown learn from Paul Pierce’s game?
Getting to his spot
Brown talked about Pierce’s ability to “get to his spot.” Both are players who like to take mid-range shots from the free-throw line, and both are great at getting there. So that might not be the area where Brown can learn from Pierce. However, PP was also great at getting to his spot off-ball, which might be where JB can lean into his studies.
Looking at Paul Pierce’s games from the Big Three era—when he had to play next to other stars—it’s obvious how smoothly he played off the ball. Of course, he was, first of all, a great catch-and-shoot three-point shooter, especially relative to his era. But what could be interesting for Brown to explore is Pierce’s ability to obtain great post-up positions.
In the play below from the 2008 Finals, Pierce spun around Vladimir Radmanović to trap him behind as he ran toward the other side of the paint to get a deep post-up position. As he gets the ball, Pierce isn’t static—his hips and feet are already positioned so he can drive from the catch and use the gap created on his matchup. He goes around Radmanović and finishes with his right hand.
Another example from the same Finals, against the same matchup. Here, Pierce waits until he’s at the level of the screen from Ray Allen to trick Radmanović. Instead of running straight to the ball, he creates a gap by going almost off the court to get a deep position underneath the basket. As his matchup goes over the screen, he gets enough space to finish.
This same play, with more spacing, could be turned from a post-up to a simple cut—which was also one of Pierce’s threats as an offensive player. His craftiness wasn’t limited to having the ball in his hands. The Celtics legend was also great at managing time and space without the ball to find easy buckets at the rim.
Jaylen Brown himself has grown as a post-up player, from 0.5 post-ups per game in 2022–23 to 2.3 in 2024. He’s using a lot of his physical dominance to score from this area, and he could be even more deadly if he learns how to master pace and space like Paul Pierce did. Despite not-so-great spacing, Pierce was calm and collected in these post-up situations, drawing the defense on the move and passing from there.
Yes, Jaylen Brown doesn’t have Pierce’s shooting touch, but I strongly believe he could master the post-up play by leaning even more into it. And shifting more toward being an off-ball and post-up player could turn him into a more efficient scorer—like Pierce was.
Free-throws’ residual value
Jaylen Brown’s efficiency has been a hot topic for years—especially during the current season—as he is scoring with below-average efficiency. His relative shooting efficiency peaked in 2019–20 with a 103 TS+ (3% above league average). On the other hand, Paul Pierce’s career average is an impressive 107 TS+ (7% above league average). But where does the difference between these two players’ efficiency come from? Why does Pierce’s average feel far above Brown’s peak, despite both having elite offensive skill sets?
The free throws.
Let’s dive into the data from Basketball-Reference.com to understand why Pierce was far more efficient—mainly because he got to the line at a higher rate. In the “Adjusted Shooting” section of a player’s page, there are “league-adjusted” stats with a “+.” Above, we mentioned TS+, which is True Shooting relative to league average for that season, with 100 being the average. The same applies for eFG% (Effective Field Goal %) or FTr (Free Throw Rate).
In the chart below, we compare Paul Pierce during the Big Three era and Jaylen Brown since becoming an All-Star alongside Jayson Tatum. What’s similar is their relative eFG%. Both were slightly above average, mostly due to difficult shot selection. Yet, while their eFG% is similar, their true efficiency (relative True Shooting) is very different.
Paul Pierce being 10% above league average is quite amazing. For context, that’s the same relative True Shooting as current MVP favorite Shai Gilgeous-Alexander this season. During the five Big Three seasons, Pierce scored with elite efficiency—and his career average of 107 TS+ is even more impressive than that five-year stretch.
So, we have two players with similar relative eFG%, but a huge gap in their overall scoring efficiency—solely due to free throws. Pierce’s relative Free Throw Rate was around 150, while Jaylen Brown is just below 100. In simple terms, Pierce was getting to the line 50% more than the league average, while Brown is below average in generating free throws. Why such a big gap?
Well, first there’s Pierce’s ability to get to his spot, on and off the ball—but we’ve already looked at that. The second reason is patience and control. Watching film, the biggest difference between the two stars is that feeling of control.
Mastering the pace and space
As Noa noted in his recent story on Jaylen Brown, his focus while studying Paul Pierce film was on the Hall of Famer’s ability to get to his spots and play at a controlled pace. Indeed, Pierce’s ability to control the pace of the game is truly remarkable. Despite being slower than most athletic wings, Pierce dictated the pace of the game—not the other way around.
In the play below, from the famous Game 7 against LeBron James’s Cleveland Cavaliers, Pierce showed how good he was at changing pace and managing space. First, he slowly moves close to P.J. Brown’s screen. Once James and Žydrūnas Ilgauskas are about to close in, he smartly adjusts his back foot to burst and split the screen. Then, as Joe Smith (another former No. 1 draft pick) closes in, he gathers firmly with two feet and both hands to take control of the ball and put himself in the best position to go around the center.
This game is especially interesting to study, as it shows how great Paul Pierce was with the ball in his hands as a playmaker. The Cavaliers applied heavy pressure in pick-and-rolls, sending two players at the ball-handler. This didn’t slow Pierce down. In the example below, he smartly steps away from the double, letting Ben Wallace recover to Kevin Garnett. Then he drives right, and as LeBron James stunts, he spins back to his left, drives, and forces Ilgauskas to foul him at the rim.
Paul Pierce is a forgotten offensive monster. Few wing players could shoot, drive, post up, and handle the ball at his level. Jaylen Brown is more than right to study his game. What made Pierce special was his ability to play alongside other stars while remaining efficient—with or without the ball. He was also smart and sneaky enough to force his way to the free-throw line. And, on top of that, he had a unique ability to control time, pace, and space on offense.
If Jaylen Brown can master these skills from The Truth, then the sky’s the limit—because that would make him one of the best offensive players in the league.
