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 towards the Orlando Magic, a 26-point, 12-assist outing to maintain the Celtics alive in Recreation 5 towards the New York Knicks.
And, there have been the lows: 7 turnovers within the Celtics’ remaining sport, a blowout loss at Madison Sq. Backyard, and 35% capturing throughout the Celtics’ first two losses, during which the Celtics misplaced consecutive 20-point second-half leads.
By way of all of it, it was evident that Brown was taking part in by 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 because the Celtics’ elimination and provided some constructive perception into Brown’s scenario.
“The knee is in 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’ common supervisor didn’t explicitly say that surgical procedure was off the desk, he did share that the partially torn meniscus was not new info.
“That’s been one thing that he’s had for some time, and it’s been steady, and he’s performed with it,” Brown mentioned. “That’s been a number of scans by 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’ remaining three video games towards the Magic. He additionally missed 11 video games with the damage within the second half of the season.
And, earlier than the sequence towards 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 believed it bought higher and higher and higher. I feel he truly felt higher, or, at the least, he informed me he felt higher on the finish of the Knicks sequence.”
Stevens attributed Brown’s want to play by the damage to his warrior mindset, one thing Brown and his teammates have spoken to loads of instances all year long.
“Jaylen desires to play,” Stevens mentioned. “Jaylen is a competitor. Jaylen is a warrior. Jaylen takes nice delight in being on the market.”
What the Celtics anticipate 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 seemingly that Brown must tackle a much bigger function 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.
Requested Brad Stevens about his confidence degree in Jaylen Brown main the workforce subsequent 12 months with out Jayson Tatum:
“I’ve full religion in Jaylen.” pic.twitter.com/TPXLrbLAHo
— Noa Dalzell (@NoaDalzell) Might 19, 2025
Stevens made clear that his confidence in Brown’s capacity to assist lead the workforce with out his co-star.
“I’ve full religion that, any sport that you’ve these guys on the courtroom, or a type of guys on the courtroom, you have got a terrific shot,” Stevens mentioned. “And so, I’ve full religion in Jaylen.”
