BOSTON — As Jaylen Brown methodically picked apart the Phoenix Suns on Friday night, it was clear something was off. Despite filling up the box score with 31 points, Brown wasn’t his normal self. And he hasn’t been for a while now. The Boston Celtics star has been dealing with a lingering knee issue that has gone from a potential problem to a complete detour.
“We'll see,” Brown said when asked how he thinks he’ll handle the heavy physical toll of the playoffs. “I'm still learning, and I'm still hoping that—We've got some stuff that we're looking to do to make myself feel a lot better going into the playoffs. I'm still learning. So, every day, I'm just taking it one day at a time. Obviously, I haven't felt my best over the last couple of days, the last couple of weeks. But you kind of just got to roll with the punches, I guess.
“It is what it is. It sucks. I wish I could share more details, but whatever my team needs, whatever I can do, whatever I got, I'm gonna give. So, I'm looking forward to just taking it one day at a time, and I'm hopeful that some things will improve over the course of these next two weeks or so.”
Jaylen Brown is learning to play through the pain of his knee injury
The official report indicates that Brown is dealing with a bone bruise and posterior impingement in his right knee, an ailment that first popped up at the beginning of March. However, indications of knee swelling were reported as far back as the beginning of February, and Brown has had a history of knee soreness for the past few years.
Brown has taken days off intermittently since March 6, when the injury first reportedly flared up, yet he’s made it clear that there’s no indication that the pain will go away anytime soon.
Instead, most of his comments have surrounded the idea of learning to live with it for the time being. And that involves adjusting his game a bit.
“It's just learning to make adjustments,” Brown said. “I've probably relied on my athleticism a lot this season, but using more of my skill, playing a little bit slower, which can sometimes be a good thing. So, it's all about just figuring that out, and I've been using these games to kind of figure it out and just take it one day at a time.”
A process that has included some appreciation for a Celtics legend.
“It's funny because he was at the game today. Before the game, I was watching some Paul Pierce footage,” Brown said with a smile. “Just getting to your spots, playing at a certain pace. And today, I felt like I didn't have my normal burst, but I was still able to be effective. So, I think that's good.
“But as we continue to move forward, I'm hoping to feel better and better. But there's no guarantee [that] rest or anything like that is going to make this thing better. So kind of figuring it out and going through it and getting ready for the playoffs.”
Pierce sat courtside next to Boston Red Sox icon David Ortiz on Friday night for Boston’s 123-103 win over the Phoenix Suns.
The Celtics only have five regular-season games left before the playoffs begin. Brown will get a few days off while the Play-In Tournament takes place, but considering Boston is all but locked into the two seed at this point, their remaining regular-season contests are fairly irrelevant.
In turn, some have begun calling for Brown to rest.
“You normally see people complain about when people are choosing not to play,” Brown said with a chuckle. “I've never experienced it the other way around, where I'm playing and people are encouraging me not to.”
But there’s no guarantee that will solve his problems, either.
Instead, Brown has decided to work through his knee issues on the court—a freedom he is grateful Joe Mazzulla has allowed him to do.
From here on out, all Brown can do is learn to deal with his current situation.
“I think pain is definitely a physical thing, but it also is a mental thing,” Brown said. “So, Joe has allowed me, even though my team can visibly can see maybe I'm in a bit of pain, that they trust me to go out there and I can control my body and still be able to make plays and mentally be able to kind of push through it. I think that's gonna be something I'm gonna have to have in my back pocket.
“So, I've been just utilizing these games in order to feel things out. And things will get better. I'm sure. But if they don't, then I still have a good feel of kind of where my baseline is at and stuff like that because there's no guarantee, honestly, that rest is going to make anything better. I wish it would, but it's kind of the cards that are laid out.”