Jaylen Brown hadn’t missed a game until the Boston Celtics returned to Spectrum Center for the second of a back-to-back scheduled against the Charlotte Hornets, taking the night off due to a left hip flexor strain.
Brown scored 25 points in Boston’s Friday night victory (124-109) over the Hornets, called out ex-teammate Grant Williams for instigating tensions with a knucklehead foul on Jayson Tatum and continued his cold streak from 3-point range — Brown shot 0-for-6 from three. But as Brown revealed, the hip flexor injury isn’t new and it’s remained in the back of the 28-year-old’s mind throughout the still-young campaign.
“I got an MRI in training camp and it’s been back and forth since then,” Brown said Saturday, per Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. “(Friday) I think I extended it a little more, and it’s already been giving me some trouble. I’m going to have to get another MRI and go from there.”
Putting aside the absence of Kristaps Porzingis, the Celtics have done well navigating through their first six games. Al Horford didn’t play Friday night, sticking with the 38-year-old’s load management plan and Sam Hauser missed three games with a lower back injury, leaving it up to Payton Pritchard to hold the fort down in the reserve unit. Still, nothing’s been able to shake the Celtics from moving along and performing up to par as the league’s reigning champions.
Brown, who missed 12 games last season, said he felt the impact of the lingering injury at multiple points so far. He’s averaged 25.7 points with 7.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists playing 36 minutes a night.
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“I haven’t felt like my legs have been underneath me, dealing with this hip flexor,” Brown said, per Washburn. “It’s more (affecting) my explosion and my burst. And then, mentally, trying to figure that out as well. Thinking about it kind of throws everything off a little bit, but I’ll be fine.”
