After Jaylen Brown looked visibly pained during the Celtics’ overtime win over the New York Knicks last week, Kristaps Porzingis publicly urged his superstar teammate to relax.
There was no need, Porzingis stressed, for Brown to be playing through a knee injury in inconsequential games. Better to rest and ensure his body is as fit as possible for the playoffs.
Porzingis revealed Wednesday that he preached that same message to Brown in private conversations. It seemed to have the desired effect. After playing 22 minutes against the Knicks, Brown sat out Boston’s final three regular-season games.
“We definitely talked about it, just because of my history also with some of the knee stuff that bothered me in the past,” Porzingis said. “We definitely talked. I gave him my point of view and what I thought could help him, and he did the things necessary to be as healthy and feeling good as possible for this run that we’re about to have. And he looks good. He looks good. He’s always saying that he feels good, but he actually looks good, and that’s (what’s) most important.”
Porzingis missed most of Boston’s 2024 playoff run and the first month of this season due to lower leg injuries, then was sidelined for nine games in late February and early March with an illness. The Celtics center wouldn’t share specifics about his conversation with Brown but said he drew comparisons between his recoveries and Brown’s.
Brown has dealt with a right knee issue since before the NBA All-Star break and recently received injections to manage his pain. He warmed up before last Wednesday’s loss in Orlando — after every other Celtics starter had been ruled out — before deciding not to play, according to head coach Joe Mazzulla.
“Not to go into too much detail, but (I told him) stuff that just has helped me,” Porzingis said. “It helped me, and we have some similar stuff, maybe. He has something going on; maybe I know more or less what it is, so I just gave him my point of view.”
Brown has not spoken with reporters since the Celtics’ regular season ended, but he’s impressed teammates with his performance in practice this week.
“He looked great today,” Al Horford said after Tuesday’s session. “I was very happy to see him out there doing everything. It’s a really good sign for us.”
Mazzulla said he’s “100%” confident Brown will be ready to play when Boston opens its first-round playoff series against the Magic this Sunday at TD Garden.
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