The Boston Celtics were forced to finish the season without Jayson Tatum. It turns out their other star was hurt too.
Jaylen Brown finished the Celtics’ season, which ended in six games against the New York Knicks on Friday, while playing through a partially torn right meniscus, according to ESPN. He will reportedly be evaluated this week to determine if he needs surgery.
It was previously known Brown was playing through the pain in the last month of the regular season and the playoffs, reportedly receiving painkilling injections his knee during March and April.
From the start of March to the end of the regular season, Brown averaged 18.3 points in 13 games. In the playoffs, he posted 22.3 points per game while shooting 44.6% from the field, the worst mark for a postseason in his career.
He noted his physical issues to reporters after the game, via ESPN:
“I don’t make excuses,” he told reporters. “Obviously, it’s tough the way we went out like tonight, but the way we finished the year, personally, the way I finished the year, persevering through some physical stuff that I was battling through, I’m proud of our group.”
The Celtics faced long odds to repeat as champs the second Tatum went down with what was later diagnosed as a torn right Achilles. A frustrating series, in which they blew leads of 20, 20 and 14 points, culminated in a six-game loss to the Knicks, who will face the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference finals.
Meanwhile, Boston will enter the offseason with potentially both of their star wings going under the knife, and it’s hard to see either being anywhere close to 100% when next season begins.
