Jaylen Brown has been ruled out of the Boston Celtics game against the Charlotte Hornets on Friday, April 11. Due to that decision, Brown will fall short of the 65 game threshold a player must reach in order to be considered for an All-NBA team.
Brown has been dealing with a bone bruise in recent weeks. Unfortunately, that injury has limited the All-Star forward’s impact on the court. He’s less aggressive in the open court, less explosive at the rim, and has struggled when trying to move laterally.
As such, Brown has been working on getting to his spots in the mid-range. Joe Mazzulla has reduced the amount of on-ball reps Brown has been getting, primarily due to his lack of burst. Instead, Brown has been more of an off-ball threat, getting into a strong position before calling for the ball.
Celtics fans will undoubtedly be hoping that Brown is back to his best at some point during the upcoming playoffs. He was the Conference Finals and NBA Finals MVP last season. If he’s less than 80%, the Celtics’ chances of winning a second-straight championship will suffer a significant blow.
Brown also missed Boston’s loss to the Orlando Magic on Wednesday, April 9. However, all of the Celtics’ top-six rotations were sidelined for that game.
Celtics Head Coach is Trusting Brown
Despite his knee injury, Brown has been part of the Celtics rotation in recent weeks. Of course, some sections of the fanbase have aired their concerns with the explosive forward attempting to play through the injury.
In an April 10 appearance on 98.5 “The Sports Hub,” head coach Joe Mazzulla backed Brown to make the right decision based on how his body is feeling.
“He’s doing well,” Mazzulla said. h/t Bobby Manning. “…no one knows their body, no one knows knows how to push themselves, no one knows how to prepare themselves, body and mind, through the rigors of a season (like him)…the most important thing is trusting Jaylen…trusting his work, trusting his process and also trusting the training staff and sports science and the guys who put the time in all the time. He’s doing well and I trust that he’ll be ready to go when it matters most.”
If Brown isn’t going to be fully healthy for the upcoming postseason run, it makes sense for him to try and adjust his game on the fly. However, the Celtics must ensure he’s not risking further injury by being out on the court.
Celtics Still Favored to Win Another Championship
According to Kendrick Perkins, who was speaking on a recent episode of First Take, a healthy Celtics roster is still the most talented rotation in the NBA.
“I have a better chance of finding a salad in a donut shop.” Perkins said. “It’s not happening…Let me explain why. 1. The Celtics were disrespected after they won their last championship, so they’re p****d off. 2. They brought back every single player from that championship squad…Their others, outside of Tatum, Brown and the rest of the starting five, has gotten better…I don’t see a single team in the NBA that’s gonna beat this team healthy in a seven-game series. Not one.”
If Brown is going to be limited in his explosiveness and lateral movement, Mazzulla must position Jrue Holiday or Derrick White as the primary point of attack defender. Figuring out who is going to stop the opposing team’s best player won’t be easy. It’s a role Brown usually takes upon himself.
Nevertheless, how Holiday or White copes with that new defensive role will likely have an impact on how successful the Celtics are between now and the summer.
