Sunday, February 7 - Celtics at Suns
Pregame – Brown is Trending in the Right Direction
There is a Jaylen Brown update – and it’s a good one.
Although Brown will miss his second consecutive game this afternoon with left knee soreness, it sounds as if the 24-year-old will be back in Boston’s lineup very soon.
“He’s feeling much better today,” head coach Brad Stevens said Sunday afternoon of Brown. “He’s gonna go through a lift and a light court workout here before the game, but all trending really positive.”
Brown’s improvement could lead to him returning to the lineup for Tuesday’s matchup with the Utah Jazz, which will be the final game of Boston’s five-game trip out West.
The fact that the soon-to-be first-time All-Star is feeling better isn’t the only positive news associated Brown’s current absence, either. Stevens also made sure to note the importance of Brown getting some time to detox from the demands of the NBA schedule.
Brown has logged 661 minutes so far this season amid a condensed schedule that permits very little recovery time for players. No other Celtics player has logged more than 589 total minutes, which indicates just how much stress has been put on Brown’s body over the last six-plus weeks.
Stevens has mentioned at times this season that it will be important for the Celtics to work in days off for their top players. For Brown, his days off just happen to coincide with a brief injury absence that will span at least five days.
“Jaylen being able to take a few days here is huge,” said Stevens, “but we just don’t get to do that and not miss games. It’s just not gonna happen. So those are things we just have to take into account right now.”
Fortunately for Boston, everything that’s being taken into account with regard to Brown’s injury sounds positive right now. He’s feeling better and trending toward a return to the lineup, all while his body enjoys a handful of days off from the demands of NBA game action.
That’s all good news for Brown and the Celtics.
- Marc D'Amico