When the Boston Celtics completed their sweep of the Brooklyn Nets last night, it appeared everything truly was going Boston’s way. Shortly after the game, however, it appears there might be a fly in the soup. Jaylen Brown revealed some injury news that probably will concern Celtics fans to some extent.
In a post-game interview with Abby Chin, Brown admitted that he was dealing with hamstring issues during the second half of Game 4, but assured that he would be fine.
“I had some hamstring problems going into the second half,” Brown said. “I’m alright. I think I’m alright so I’m going to get checked out and I think I’ll be fine for the next one.”
Although Brown stresses that he should be ready to go when the Celtics need him, keep in mind that three other players who play vital roles in their team’s playoff hopes – Devin Booker, Khris Middleton, Kyle Lowry – have all suffered hamstring injuries since the start of the playoffs and have no timetable for their return as of now.
Even if they do, hamstring injuries are tough because they physically limit what players can do on the court when they try to play through them. Brown says that he’s okay, and for all we know, he is, but this is far from welcome news for the Celtics.
Brown Dealt With Hamstring Issues Earlier This Season
Brown’s words revolving around his hamstring problems from Game 4 were a little too vague for anyone to conclude that it would pose problems for him and Boston from here on out. However, if he truly suffered an injury, what would be a cause for concern would be if it’s the same one Brown had injured earlier this season that caused him to miss 13 games.
After sustaining the injury on November 4th against the Miami Heat, Brown made his return on the 22nd where he then re-aggravated his hamstring against the Philadelphia 76ers on December 1st. Brown later returned on the 13th against the Milwaukee Bucks and has not been bothered since.
Hopefully, this will not turn into a long-term issue for Brown, as the Celtics’ future depends heavily on him being 100 percent for when they need him the most.
Brown Has Played on an Injured Hamstring in Previous Postseasons
The silver lining here is that even if Brown has hurt his hamstring badly enough that it could potentially affect his availability during this postseason, he has shown in the past that he can tough it out because he has done so before.
During the 2018 playoffs, Brown sustained a Grade 1 hamstring injury that forced him to miss the second half of Game 7 against the Milwaukee Bucks and Game 1 against the Philadelphia 76ers the following series. Despite that, Brown played through the injury. Better yet, the injury didn’t hold him back much if at all as he put up overall playoff averages of 18 points a game on 46.6 shooting from the field and 39.3 percent from three.
Of course, everyone would love to have Jaylen Brown fully healthy for the entirety of the Celtics’ playoff run, but since he’s proven he can endure through hamstring injuries in the past without skipping much of a beat, there may not be too much to worry about.
Especially if he’s alright like he says he is.
Celtics Star Jaylen Brown Provides Concerning Injury Update