Jaylen Brown Impressive On and Off Court for Celtics Battling Knee Injury

BOSTON — Apologies due to Jaylen Brown.

Despite concerns, calls for him to rest, myself among them, and All-NBA eligibility looming over how he handles the end of this season, Brown honed his ability to play through the pain to the point where he scored 31 points with five rebounds and three assists on 10-for-16 shooting on Friday. The Celtics cruised past the Suns, 123-103, and for the second time in two weeks saw Brown lead the offense comfortably while managing his knee bruise.

Brown shined with a highlight half court three late in the shot clock early and an over-the-shoulder assist on the move late. He then described his effort to transition toward a more methodical pace, relying on his skill and ability to reach his spots rather than athleticism and burst that’s missing at times through his recovery. In a masterful post-game session that lasted over 10 minutes, Brown provided about as much transparency as possible, revealing his mindset on continuing to play late in the regular season and what he’s learned through it.

“It’s all about just figuring it out, and I’ve been using these games to figure it out,” Brown said. “It’s funny, because he was at the game tonight. Before the game, I was watching some Paul Pierce, getting to your spots, playing at a certain pace. 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 rest or anything like that is gonna make this thing better.”

Brown entered Friday’s game questionable and played fewer than 30 minutes as he has in his past five appearances since missing three games in a row last month with a bone bruise in his right knee. He mentioned last week that this is his first significant knee injury, and while repeating on Friday that he and the medical staff have a plan for him to play more comfortably and for longer in the playoffs, Brown doesn’t believe the benefits of resting outweigh what he’ll miss in learning to play through inevitable pain prior to the playoffs.

It’s an interesting thought. That although Brown could avoid exacerbating his pain or overcompensating with other parts of his body, he wants to prepare how he’ll impact games if limited in the postseason. He wore the uncomfortable aspects of that process upon return during the west coast trip, playing too tentatively and shooting only eight times in Utah, doing the same in San Antonio with too many offensive mistakes to warrant playing late.

“I don’t think we needed me to score the ball this year,” Brown said. “(Scoring) is probably my best quality, but I really tried to emphasize making plays for others on our team all season long. I think that’s what our team has needed.”

Brown thrived running the offense at Phoenix, and even showed some of that old burst with a strong dunk. Even his best nights have shown discomfort though, which Noa Dalzell raised as a different visual than we are used to watching — since some players lean toward rest when they feel discomfort during the regular season.

“You normally see people go complain about when people are choosing not to play,” he said.

“I’ve never been experienced it the other way around, where I’m playing and people are encouraging me not to,” he continued. “Pain is definitely a physical thing, but it also is a mental thing. So, Joe has allowed me, even though my team visibly can see maybe I’m in a bit of pain, 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 push through it. I think that’s going to be something I’m gonna have to have in my back pocket.”

Joe Mazzulla said he and Brown are in constant communication about how he’s feeling, and Brown again exited midway through the fourth quarter as his limit arrived. That’s another factor he’s working through, along with potentially adjusting toward more of a playmaker role rather than his normal scoring one. He shifted away from transition, now running the break 1.1 fewer times per game than last year. Dunking, which seemed to aggravate his ailment last month late in the loss to Oklahoma City, will probably become more sparse as the playoffs approach.

And there is still time to rest. At least the full week open to Boston while it awaits the conclusion of the play-in tournament. The Celtics won’t play Game 1 of the first round until April 19, and even if he aims to play in 65 games to remain eligible for All-NBA status, that’ll allow him to miss one more night, perhaps one half of Tuesday and Wednesday’s back-to-back at New York and Orlando.

The rule also allows for two 15-minute appearances, which he could potentially split across the Charlotte mini series next weekend that ends the season. He wouldn’t be the first player in league history to reach a necessary games played minimum before checking out of a late season game. Jrue Holiday did it with the Bucks to reach a contract incentive.

Brown said All-NBA status isn’t a factor in how he’s approaching the final days of the season, but if he’s used the time to find an approach that’ll persist into the playoffs, doesn’t believe he’s risking further injury and has a plan to improve his health later — I have no problem with him wanting a shot at the team. He played most of the games necessary anyway and his push to remain available is the spirit of the 65-game minimum anyway. Even if this scenario shows the pitfall of an arbitrary threshold that provides few exceptions. Jalen Brunson and Kevin Durant are on the verge of elimination from contention due to late season injuries.

Highs-and-lows likely await Brown into the playoffs, and his health became an unexpected wild card in the team’s push to repeat. A valid reason for the consternation over how the injury is being handled alongside past playoff injuries derailing past seasons.

But what appeared to be questionable exertion that could’ve further threatened his ability to contribute in the postseason actually might benefit the team in the long run. Brown appeared to learn how to perform through a difficult ailment in recent weeks. And those performances at least add hope that he pulled a positive from a situation that won’t magically disappear over the coming weeks — even if he missed games now.

“I learned that I have a lot of skill,” Brown said. “My skill level is high. As you seen tonight, no dunks, no transition points, what I’m used to doing. I was probably leading the league in transition points this season, or top-five at least. I probably had no transition points tonight, and I can still affect and score the game in multiple ways. I haven’t always displayed that, and this year I haven’t displayed it as much, because I’m athletic, I get to the paint, I draw two, make the defense collapse and we got shooters all around. I can hit shots, I can shoot the ball, I can get to my spots, I can score different ways and stuff like that. So just emphasizing that, and I think that can be a good thing. Reminding myself that not only are you athletic, but you got a high skill level as well. So utilize that.”