By Alex Barth, 985TheSportsHub.com
During the Celtics’ recent five-game road trip, Jaylen Brown missed to games after what seemed to be a minor knee injury. It turns out, the issues with his knee are a bit more complicated than that.
Speaking with 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Toucher & Rich Thursday morning, Celtics’ GM Danny Ainge revealed a surprising diagnosis.
“We’re concerned. Jaylen has tendonitis in his [left] knee,” Ainge told the morning show. “We’re concerned about it. We’re doing everything we can. Giving him the two days rest isn’t going to cure it, it’s just going to lighten the load.”
This is a relatively new issue for Brown and the Celtics. “I’ve only known about it for the last two weeks that he’s had it, that he’s occasionally had it,” Ainge said. “I’m not a doctor, but – and I haven’t seen the images of it and haven’t really spent much time talking to our doctors about it yet. I look forward to catching up with them as they return from the road now, but probably even tonight.”
Brown’s minutes dipped briefly in early February, about two weeks ago. That includes a 33-point performance in a blowout win over Cleveland, in which he played 19 minutes. In his return from the rest on Tuesday, he played 37.
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Despite mentioning concern early, Ainge downplayed the significance later in the interview, citing the lack of details he currently has on the injury. “I don’t know how serious it is, but I have been given no reason to be concerned about anything long term…I don’t think there’s any long term concerns at all.”
“It’s a very common thing among NBA players, tendinitis in that patella tendon,” Ainge added. “We’ll just keep keep tabs on it the best we can and try to get the best version of Jaylen that we can have.”
For a glass-half-full perspective, Ainge mentioned that he himself managed to have a long NBA career dealing with a similar nagging condition in his knee. “I played 14 years with tendonitis in my knees in the NBA, it just flares up,” he said. “It just comes and goes and doesn’t mean that it’s good.”
In 21 games so far this season, Brown is second on the Celtics in scoring with 26.7 points per game. He’s also averaging 5.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists per contest.
Listen below for the full Danny Ainge interview on Toucher and Rich, from the beginning of Hour 4 on Thursday.
Click here for 98.5 The Sports Hub’s complete coverage of the Celtics.
Alex Barth is a writer and digital producer for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Thoughts? Comments? Questions? Looking for a podcast guest? Let him know on Twitter @RealAlexBarth or via email at Alexander.Barth@bbgi.com.