Jaylen Brown on hamstring injury and upcoming return

It’s been nearly a week since Jaylen Brown left the floor in Miami in the Celtics’ blowout of the Heat with a Grade 1 hamstring strain. Yesterday, head coach Ime Udoka set Brown’s recovery timetable to 1-2 weeks and it sounds like his return could be sooner than expected.

“Without pain. Still got some tightness, but no pain,” Brown responded today after practice when asked about how his hamstring is feeling.

Because of his injury history, the Celtics are taking it slow. Most recently, Brown suffered a strain back in March 2020 just before the league was suspended due to the COVID pandemic. This hamstring pull is an aggravation of that injury, so the team will proceed cautiously. “I’m not overly concerned about it, but I do want to make sure it’s not an ongoing issue,” Brown said.

“This one being a reoccurring injury, I want to take the proper precautions to make sure that 1) I have my hamstring for the next ten to fifteen years and 2) this is not an issue going forward where I have to be away from the team.”

From the sidelines, the Celtics leading scorer likes what he’s seeing in his absence. “I think we’re moving in the right direction. I’m pissed that I have to spend so much time away from the team through COVID and quarantine and now with a hamstring injury so early,” Brown said after an impressive 2-1 road trip. “We’re definitely building in the right direction. I loved our energy and our spirit in Dallas, especially in the second half. Luka hit a tough shot, but nothing to hang our heads. We’ll just focus on the next one, Toronto, and keep building from there. The spirit of this team is different and we’re going to continue to keep pushing. I can feel it. Things will turn around for sure.”

Luckily, a brief break in Boston’s schedule has only forced him to miss one game so far and when he does return, he’ll be coming back to a team just catching its stride and he’ll need a healthy hamstring to continue that momentum.