Jaylen Brown Lands On Celtics Injury Report.
Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown returned after a brief one-game absence and took the floor during Friday night’s NBA In-Season Tournament matchup with the Toronto Raptors.
However, fresh off an injury report upgrade, Brown has returned with a slight downgrade prior to Sunday’s game with the Memphis Grizzlies. The 27-year-old was listed as questionable on Saturday’s injury report, per team announcement, due to a right adductor strain.
Brown suffered the injury during a mid-game slip on the court at Scotiabank Arena — one of several slips from Brown and others during the contest.
“The court was just slippery all game,” Brown told reporters postgame, per CLNS Media video. “I think we all, as players, we’re all here for the In-Season Tournament because it’s going to generate revenue, excitement, competition, but we’ve got to make sure the floor is safe to play on. We can’t put our players out there and risk their health.”
The ice-like floor in Toronto played little factor in Brown’s performance as he still managed to finish the night with a team-leading 23 points, marking the fourth straight 20-plus-point game for the two-time All-Star guard.
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Taking on the 2-9 Grizzlies without guard Marcus Smart available for Memphis, the Celtics should be able to take care of business with ease. Therefore, Brown should be able to take a seat if necessary to alleviate the pain and rest up before Monday night’s game against the Charlotte Hornets — another favorable matchup for Boston.
If sidelined, it would mark Brown’s second missed game of the season.
Celtics’ Jaylen Brown rips ‘unacceptable’ conditions of NBA In-Season Tournament courts after injury.
The NBA began their first-ever In-Season Tournament this year, and even though it’s a bit confusing to understand (while many believe it’s simply just a money-grab), the intensity is there on the floor (the winners get $500,000 each).
In case you don’t know when it’s a tournament game, the courts are redone as if it was a “Create A Court” on NBA 2K – however, the courts have had questionable conditions, with players slipping and sliding all over the place.
Boston Celtics superstar Jaylen Brown said he “might have strained” his groin after slipping on Toronto’s court Friday night.
While he’s all for the tournament, an unprecedented addition in North American sports, he says the league needs to pay attention to the dangers of the wildly designed courts.
“The court was just slippery all game. As players, we’re all here for the In-Season Tournament because it’s going to generate revenue, excitement, competition, etcetera,” Brown, a vice president of the players’ union, said after the game. “But we’ve got to make sure the floor is safe to play on. We can’t put our players out there and risk their health.
“Tonight, I thought the floor was kind of unacceptable. Guys were slipping all over the place, not just me.”
Teammate Precious Achiuwa said he “felt myself slip a few times, too.”
Brown is not alone. Dallas Mavericks star Luka Dončić said the floor at the home of the New Orleans Pelicans was “really bad” during Tuesday’s In-Season Tournament game.
“It was really slippery, and in some places, the ball didn’t really bounce. If we’re going to have these courts, we got to make sure that it’s a stable court so we can play on it,” Doncic said.
Teams are currently in pool play of the tournament, decided at random based on records from last year, by playing regular season games. The tournament winner will be crowned December 9 in Las Vegas.
