Ok, now I'm back on using numbers over the eye test or narrativesA good portion of his step "up" during the season was having a 7'3" guy who can shoot and roll to the basket playing next to him.
But he's been great during these playoffs without KP. He benefits from teams paying a lot of attention to JT but he's been great.
Jaylen was great across a ton of lineups this year, including lots without KP or Tatum, in large samples. This had not been the case for him prior to this year, and it's a big reason I think the burden of proof is on those who want to say he didn't level up significantly.
The NBA is just plain harder to analyze than static sports like baseball, and there's always going to have to be analysis added to both metrics and observations.