Noteworthy stat puts Jaylen Brown in driver’s seat to win Finals MVP over Jayson Tatum

Every player on the Boston Celtics has played in an important role in carrying them to a 3-0 lead in the NBA Finals, on the doorstep of winning it all. But on that roster, most people would pick Jayson Tatum as the best player.

Tatum led the team in scoring and rebounding during the regular season, finishing second in assists. He has the largest usage on the team, and thus the largest share of offensive responsibility but he's a legit two-way contributor. He was a First Team All-NBA selection and finished sixth in MVP voting. But despite the numbers and the accolades, there's a strong argument that Jaylen Brown has been the Celtics' most important player in the postseason and especially in the NBA Finals.

Brown has essentially matched Tatum's scoring average in the postseason. In the Finals, he's been the primary defender on Luka Doncic while also leading the Celtics in scoring and shooting 55.1 percent from the field. He's 3-of-4 on clutch shot attempts in the Finals and he even drew the final foul on Doncic in Game 3. And if all that isn't enough to cement his case for NBA Finals MVP there is also Tatum's historically bad shooting.

Jaylen Brown has made his NBA Finals MVP case over Jayson Tatum

Tatum's shooting struggles — 35.9 percent from the floor, 29.6 percent from beyond the arc — have been noticeable. He's made just 1-of-12 jumpers in the series with a defender within 2-4 feet of him at the time of the shot, a scenario in which he made 33 percent of his shots during the regular season. He's just 9-of-41 (21.9 percent) on all shots outside the restricted area.

To his credit, Tatum is contributing in other ways — playing fantastic defense and 8.7 rebounds and 7.3 assists per game. But scoring is usually the key to NBA Finals MVP and in that regard he may have too much ground to make up on his teammate.