Celtics Star Pleads For Jaylen Brown To Rest Ahead Of Playoffs

Jaylen Brown played through a knee injury for multiple weeks, and a Celtics teammate wished him the best ahead of the postseason.

Boston was locked into the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference but still played at full strength in its overtime win over the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday. Brown was limited to 22 minutes, so it seemed like head coach Joe Mazzulla was managing the All-Star’s workload even while playing an eight-man rotation.

Brown’s teammates commended the All-NBA guard for his resiliency. However, Kristaps Porzingis made a plea to the 28-year-old.

“He’s a tough dude,” Porzingis told reporters, per MassLive’s Souichi Terada. “He always preaches his warrior mindset and he lives by it. But to what extent do we need that right now? Maybe he needs to take care of it and make sure he’s going to be ready for the most important moments.

“So I think we just have to urge him to make sure he does everything he needs to prepare, to get it healthy and to prepare for what’s going to come. And I think he’s a smart guy. So he will. It just shows his heart and how bad he wants to be out there even for games that don’t mean super much for us right now. But that’s who he is and I appreciate him for that.”

The Celtics had three games left in the regular season after Tuesday’s win. Brown needs to play two more games to be eligible for major NBA season awards.

Brown had a fine season, but he wasn’t voted into the NBA All-Star Game, and it’s unlikely he’ll be voted into an All-NBA Team. There’s a chance he makes an All-Defensive Team. However, Boston’s focus has been on a repeat run, and it has the best chance of doing that at full strength.

Mazzulla did not comment on how he will manage his key players in the final week of the regular season, but it will be something to monitor with the postseason a week away.