Jaylen Brown has thrown a bit of a wrench into the Boston Celtics' plans (in a good way) with his performance in the starting unit recently, adding an element to the Celtics' starting lineup by attacking the rim aggressively.

Brown's insistence on getting into the paint and forcing the issue alongside Boston's starters -- whether that lineup includes Amir Johnson or Jonas Jerebko at power forward -- could complicate matters for the Celtics when Avery Bradley returns from his Achilles' injury. To be sure, it's a complication Brad Stevens is happy to have, but Brown's performance demands minutes, and minutes (particularly at the wing) are at a bit of a premium.

Brown's performance hasn't gone unnoticed around the league. In his column today, ESPN NBA writer Zach Lowe noted how well units that include Jae Crowder, Brown and Jerebko have performed, and why Brown's game works with them.

Boston is a whopping plus-32 in the 85 minutes these guys have shared the floor, per NBA.com. Brown looks shockingly comfortable as a starter -- a violent slasher with a mean-spirited, butt-first post game to deploy against smaller defenders. He is playing with more control than he showed during a wild first few months. Crowder is quietly shooting almost 42 percent from deep, and Jerebko makes the right play every time.

"Mean-spirited" is actually a pretty great way of describing Brown's post-game. Watch here as he finds his spot and then bullies J.J. Redick with a lightning-quick spin move to get an easy layup through contact.

Jaylen Brown spins baseline, draws the foul and gets the tough layup to fall! 💪 pic.twitter.com/6szAW9YBE2 — Boston Celtics (@celtics) February 5, 2017

Or here, as Brown shows off the "vicious" slashing that Lowe mentions.

Jaylen Brown takes it into the paint and finishes off glass, plus the foul! pic.twitter.com/54fsOvaEtb — Boston Celtics (@celtics) February 5, 2017

Brown also works well with Crowder and Jerebko in part because of the spacing they provide. Crowder, of course, has the best 3-point percentage on the team (except for Demetrius Jackson, who is 1-for-1!), and Jerebko is good enough behind the arc to force close outs from defenders. As Lowe notes, that trio can all switch and guard each other's positions, and it gives the Celtics an aggressive, stretchy look on offense.

Before the season, Brown told reporters that he was ready to "rip someone's head off," which sounded amusing in part because he is a generally thoughtful, soft spoken guy. But as it turns out, Brown might actually be ready to decapitate an opponent -- he is hyper-aggressive seeking out contact, and as his skill set progresses, his strength will allow him to continue to find ways to finish through it.

How the Celtics will keep Brown in the rotation once Bradley returns to the starting lineup will be one of the biggest question marks the rest of the way, but his performance has afforded Bradley the luxury of taking his time to return. When he does, Stevens will need to carve out some space. At this point, Brown has earned it.