Brown received pain management injections ahead of the NBA playoffs to help address his right knee injury, ESPN reported.
Jaylen Brown has hinted multiple times in recent weeks that he would undergo treatment on his injured right knee ahead of the NBA playoffs. On Saturday, ESPN’s Ramona Shelbourne reported that the four-time All-Star received pain management injections in his knee to promote healing before the playoffs.
Brown, who has been dealing with a bone bruise with posterior impingement in his right knee since mid-February, has missed the last two games and a total of 12 games this season due to the injury.
Last week, after a win against the Phoenix Suns, Brown said he was optimistic that a treatment plan the medical staff had in place would help him feel better ahead of the postseason.
“I bank on being by the playoffs — we got some stuff lined up — I bank on being even better than I feel now,” he said.
Jaylen Brown has dealt with the knee injury since the All-Star break
Brown missed two games with the right knee injury before the All-Star break, and has been limited by it ever since, visibly in pain on most nights and frequently opting for layups instead of dunks.
But, he’s actually been more efficient with the injury, shooting 47.2% after the injury, compared to 46.9% beforehand.
“I learned that I have a lot of skill,” he said. ‘My skill level is high. As you’ve seen tonight, no dunks, no transition points. I can still affect the score again in multiple ways. And I haven’t always displayed that — and this year I haven’t displayed it as much because I’m athletic… I can hit shots, I can shoot the ball, I can get to my spots, I can score different ways. I think that could be a good thing — reminding myself that not only are you athletic, but you got a high skill level as well, so utilize that.”
Joe Mazzulla and the Celtics coaching staff has deferred to Brown regarding whether he’s wanted to sit or play.
“No one knows their body, no one knows how to push themselves, no one knows how to prepare themselves, body and mind, through the rigors of a season [like him],” Mazzulla said on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Zolak & Bertrand on Thursday.
“At the end of the day, the most important thing is just kind of trust in Jaylen, and trust in his work, trust in his process and also trust in the training staff and the sports science and the guys that put the time in all the time…I trust that he’ll be ready to go when it matters most.”
Brown opted to play for most of March, but didn’t reach the 65-game minimum needed to be eligible for awards.
“There’s no guarantee, honestly, that rest is going to make anything better,” Brown said last week. “I wish it would, but it’s the cards that are laid out.”
“It is what it is. It sucks. wish I could share more details, but whatever my team needs, whatever I can do, whatever I got, Imma give. I’m looking forward to just taking it one day at a time, and I’m hopeful that some things will improve over the course of these next two weeks or so.”
The Celtics’ playoff run will begin on April 19 or April 20, and Brown, who has been open about his pain in recent weeks, is expected to be ready, Shelbourne reported.