Four-time All-Star Boston Celtics swingman Jaylen Brown will miss the team's next game against the lowly Charlotte Hornets, slated for Friday, due to a right knee posterior impingement.
The ailment has been bugging him for weeks, to the point where the 6-foot-6 University of California at Berkeley product acknowledged that he would like not be 100 percent healthy during Boston's title defense in the 2025 playoffs, but indicated that he and Boston's medical staff had plans to manage the pain and symptoms.
Brown, 28, will now miss out on what would likely have been his second-ever All-NBA honor this spring. Players need to suit up for at least 65 out of 82 league games to be considered for end-of-year awards like All-NBA and All-Defensive teams.
Suiting up for 65 games is perhaps too high a threshold — 60 may make more sense for bubble players like Brown and New York Knicks All-Star point guard Jalen Brunson.
The 2024 Finals MVP has been in the midst of a solid season, and it's a shame he won't get recognized as one of the league's 15 best players.Across his aforementioned 63 healthy contests, Brown is averaging 22.2 points on .463/.324/.764 shooting splits, 5.8 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.2 steals a night, pretty much in line with his output during the Celtics' 2023-24 championship run.
The shooting output from long range has taken a dip. The fact that Brown hasn't been his usually reliable self from distance hurts, especially on a team that's jacking up more treys than any other team by a significant margin this season. Per ESPN, Boston is heaving up a league-leading 48.2 3-point attempts a night (and making a league-leading 17.8 of those attempts), significantly more than the Golden State Warriors' 42.5 long range takes or the Chicago Bulls' 42.1 tries.
Brown is a career 35.9 percent 3-point shooter on 5.3 tries from distance per. This year's 32.4 percent conversion rate, on 5.7 3-point takes a night, represents his worst percentage ever as a pro.
Whether Brown returns for Boston's season finale on Sunday — also against the Hornets — is anyone's guess, but given that he's dealing with a lingering issue, and that the Celtics are locked into the East's No. 2 seed already, it may make sense to rest him again.
