BOSTON — After Boston Celtics practice on Saturday afternoon, Jaylen Brown provided a small, positive update on the knee injury he’s been dealing with. “Taking it one day at a time, but I think so,” Brown said when asked about him trending toward being 100% healthy. “I think I'm starting to turn the curve. I think, structurally, everything is fine. I've had some other stuff going on, but I think I'm kind of trending in the right direction.”
Those words, 'starting to turn the curve,' should be music to fans' ears. Brown has been dealing with a lingering knee issue for the past couple of months, listed as a bone bruise and right knee posterior impingement. He received an injection in his knee prior to the start of the playoffs to aid the issue.
And in the first round against the Orlando Magic, he looked great.
Jaylen Brown was elite vs. Magic despite injury
Though he entered the postseason dealing with a knee issue, Brown was incredible. Highlighted by a 36-point master class in Game 2 (to lead the Celtics to a Jayson Tatum-less win), Brown’s two-way play was a focal point of the series.
When Tatum was sidelined, Brown stepped into the lead offensive initiator role, but when he came back, Brown was perfectly comfortable slotting into a secondary scorer’s role.
He also played a huge role in the Celtics’ offensive shift in Games 4 and 5, as he prioritized pushing the pace and getting Boston into their actions quicker. Orlando’s physicality made it hard for the Celtics to play quickly in Game 3, and it (in part) led to a loss. Brown pushing the ball up the floor played a part in solving that problem.
What will Jaylen Brown’s injury look like vs. Knicks?
Despite the fact that he played well against the Magic, Brown looked injured throughout the series. In the later games, his inability to get up for big dunks and his limp after play paused became more prevalent.
It didn’t seem to affect his play too much in the first round, but there’s no indicator of how the issue could look as Brown puts more and more pressure on his knee.
Based on his statement from practice on Saturday afternoon, Brown seems to be in relatively good spirits regarding the future of his injury recovery, but nothing will be certain until he’s on the floor playing the games.
Until then, all he can do is continue to put in the work in order to give himself the best chance at recovery. A healthy Brown would give them a huge leg up against the Knicks.