.jpg)
5 hours ago
1
Jaylen Brown picked up a knee injury at arguably the worst time for the Boston Celtics: right before the All-Star break and the regular season run-in. Luckily, he's been able to play through it in all three games in this series against the Orlando Magic, but we'd imagine he's still in some level of discomfort.
He first popped up on the injury report with the right knee issue way back on February 9, when he started experiencing swelling in his knee. He would go on to miss the next two straight games, and many more over the next two months as it seems he was attempting to manage the injury rather than fully recover from it.
He played in 46 of 53 games before the injury, but only 17 of the final 29. The knee issue seemingly went away after the All-Star break, but it returned on March 1, and he has pretty much been a fixture on Boston's injury report ever since.
Latest Jaylen Brown injury update for Game 5
He was notably absent from the injury report for the first time in a while ahead of Game 2, when he put up 36 points in Jayson Tatum's absence. However, he was back on there ahead of Game 3 as a late addition.
That was worrisome, but he's played in both Game 3 and Game 4 now following questionable tags. That is likely to be the case again for Game 5, as this morning's NBA injury report confirmed that Brown is once again questionable, which the Celtics announced on Monday evening.
Injury Report for tomorrow vs. Orlando:
Jaylen Brown (right knee posterior impingement) - QUESTIONABLE
Jrue Holiday (right hamstring strain) - OUT
Point guard Jrue Holiday will also miss his third straight game after sustaining a right hamstring strain, also in Game 2. Maybe the pressure of carrying the team without Tatum was just too much for these guys' bodies.
The official injury report listed it as a posterior impingement in his right knee, the same one that began swelling two months ago. He was even taking pain management injections for the knee during the regular season, and we'd be shocked if he wasn't still doing that to stay in for this playoff run.
Follow The Sporting News on WhatsApp
Unfortunately, it looks like Brown may have tweaked something in that knee during his big Game 2 performance. He was unstoppable while going 12-for-19 in that one, but in the two games since he's been quieter, averaging 20 points on 43 percent shooting from the field and a 1-for-5 mark from deep.
Boston should be able to get out of the first round without issue despite Brown's knee, Holiday's hammy, and Tatum's wrist. But that won't be the case in the next couple of rounds. They would do well to get their work done early here so they have some time to rest and heal their bodies ahead of Round 2.
Game 5 vs. the Magic will take place at the TD Garden on Tuesday night at 5:30PM E.T., with Boston up 3-1 having a chance to wrap things up in five.
MORE CELTICS NEWS
English (US)