Brad Stevens weighs in on Jaylen Brown’s knee damage, future with Celtics

BOSTON — Jaylen Brown had an up-and-down postseason. There have been the highs: a 36-point explosion with Jayson Tatum sidelined in Recreation 2 in opposition to the Orlando Magic, a 26-point, 12-assist outing to maintain the Celtics alive in Recreation 5 in opposition to the New York Knicks.

And, there have been the lows: 7 turnovers within the Celtics’ closing sport, a blowout loss at Madison Sq. Backyard, and 35% capturing throughout the Celtics’ first two losses, through which the Celtics misplaced consecutive 20-point second-half leads.

Via all of it, it was evident that Brown was enjoying by means of knee ache — ache that the Celtics initially termed a proper knee impingement however was later reported to be a partial meniscus tear by ESPN’s Ramona Shelbourne. Per the report, Brown is being evaluated this week to find out whether or not surgical procedure is required.

On Monday, Stevens addressed the media for the primary time for the reason that Celtics’ elimination and provided some optimistic perception into Brown’s state of affairs.

“The knee is in a very good place, structurally,” Stevens mentioned. “So I feel he felt snug getting on the market and going after it, and, hopefully, he’ll really feel higher after being off of it for a few weeks right here.”

And, whereas the Celtics’ normal supervisor didn’t explicitly say that surgical procedure was off the desk, he did share that the partially torn meniscus was not new data.

“That’s been one thing that he’s had for some time, and it’s been secure, and he’s performed with it,” Brown mentioned. “That’s been a number of scans by means of and thru. We’ve identified that for a very long time, and he’s identified that for a very long time.”

Brown didn’t miss any postseason video games, although he was on the damage report for the Celtics’ closing three video games in opposition to the Magic. He additionally missed 11 video games with the damage within the second half of the season.

And, earlier than the sequence in opposition to the Knicks, Brown mentioned he felt he was turning the nook towards 100%. Stevens implied that these feedback weren’t simply gamesmanship.

“You guys all watched it within the final couple of weeks,” Stevens mentioned. “I assumed it obtained higher and higher and higher. I feel he truly felt higher, or, no less than, he advised me he felt higher on the finish of the Knicks sequence.”

Stevens attributed Brown’s want to play by means of the damage to his warrior mindset, one thing Brown and his teammates have spoken to loads of instances all year long.

“Jaylen needs to play,” Stevens mentioned. “Jaylen is a competitor. Jaylen is a warrior. Jaylen takes nice delight in being on the market.”

What the Celtics count on from Jaylen Brown subsequent season

With Jayson Tatum anticipated to be sidelined with an Achilles rupture most — if not all — of subsequent season, it’s doubtless that Brown should tackle an even bigger position on each ends of the ground.

This season, the Celtics had been 8-2 with out Tatum within the common season, and 2-1 within the playoffs. In these video games, Brown has averaged 24.2 factors, 6.9 rebounds, and 6.7 assists.

Stevens made clear that his confidence in Brown’s means to assist lead the crew with out his co-star.

“I’ve full religion that, any sport that you’ve got these guys on the courtroom, or a type of guys on the courtroom, you might have an excellent shot,” Stevens mentioned. “And so, I’ve full religion in Jaylen.”