Jaylen Brown thinks knee is ‘trending in the right direction’ ahead of Celtics-Knicks series
Jrue Holiday was also "able to work on everything he wanted to work on," Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said.
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Even though Jaylen Brown played all five games of the Celtics’ first-round win over the Magic, there had still been some concerns about the knee injury that limited him in the final month of the regular season. However, Brown is starting to feel less worried about it.
The Celtics’ star wing shared that his knee is progressing ahead of Monday’s Game 1 against the Knicks in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
“I feel like I’m doing well, for me personally and our group,” Brown told reporters on Saturday. “For me, I’m just trying to trend back in the direction of being 100 percent. Physically holding my ground and still making plays for our team. Even with guys being out — Jrue [Holiday], J.T. (Jayson Tatum) missed a game — being able to step in and fill a role. I feel I’m decent. Now, moving forward, it’s a whole different ballgame, different team, different challenges. My focus is fixed on that.
In a follow-up question, Brown was asked if he felt he’s trending in the right direction with his knee as his minutes have ramped up.
“I’m taking it one day at a time, but I think so,” Brown replied. “I think I’m starting to turn the curve. Structurally, everything is fine. There’s some other stuff going on, but I think I’m trending in the right direction.”
The improved status of Brown’s knee is obviously positive news for the Celtics. Brown was load-managed from mid-March through the end of the regular season due to a bone bruise in his right knee, missing eight of the last 16 games. In the final eight regular-season games he played, Brown didn’t play more than 29 minutes.
Brown also received a painkilling injection in his right knee during the final week of the regular season, adding to some of the concern surrounding the injury. But he played over 30 minutes in all five games in the first round, including two 41-minute outings. He also appeared to have some of his burst back, making multiple highlight dunks and scoring an efficient 36 points when Tatum was out in Game 2. He averaged 23 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 49.4 percent from the field and 44.4 percent from deep.
As Brown averaged 35.8 minutes per game in the series, though, he’s remained a fixture on the injury report. Holiday joined Brown on the injury report recently as well, missing the final three games of the Magic series due to a hamstring injury.
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla told reporters Friday that Holiday was still “day-to-day” with the hamstring injury, but he offered a more encouraging update on Saturday.
“He was able to work on everything he wanted to work on,” Mazzulla said. “He’s getting better every day.”
While Holiday had a relatively subdued regular-season offensively (11.1 points per game), he was largely impressive in the three games he played against the Knicks this season. The 34-year-old guard averaged 16 points per game, shooting 66.7 percent from the field and 57.2 percent from deep.
Of course, the Celtics would also like to have Holiday’s All-NBA-caliber defense going up against Knicks star Jalen Brunson. Holiday also played his most impactful basketball as the playoffs went on last season, having standout performances in each of the final three rounds en route to a title.
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