Jaylen Brown hadn’t addressed the media in two weeks, last talking after the Celtics beat the Phoenix Suns. Since then, he missed three regular-season games and got injections in his right knee to help him get ready for the playoffs.
So when he stepped to the microphone on Saturday, we were anxious to get some answers.
"I'm not here to talk about my knee, guys,” he said. “It is what it is and I’m focused on Orlando."
Alright then.
While he didn’t want to get into specifics about what is going on inside his right knee, it’s something that he’ll still have to deal with. Two weeks ago he said he and the staff had a plan, and that he was using the remaining regular season to adjust his game accordingly. On Saturday, he said things are going according to that plan.
"I think it was great. I appreciate Joe (Mazzulla) and the training staff,” he said. “We had a good game plan that we were kind of like filling it out. I know my body pretty well. But the decisions that were made I felt what was best. I think I'm going to use some of that stuff in my back pocket as we go forward. That was a good test for me."
The Celtics have gushed about Brown’s mental fortitude. His ability to compartmentalize, refocus, and execute has impressed his teammates and coaches.
“He looks good. He was able to do everything, no limitations,” Mazzulla said. “He’s been great, physically, mentally, really preparing himself, ready to go. So, love the week that he had.”
Both Brown and Mazzulla say there will be no limitations tomorrow in Game 1 of their opening round series with Orlando. But while the team may not put a limit on Brown, his body might. Along with his knee still not being 100%, Brown hasn’t played an NBA game in two weeks. It won’t be easy to just dive into a playoff game.
“Yeah, just preparing your mind, more than anything, to expect the unexpected,” Brown said. “They're a good young team who's hungry, so expect that intensity level. So I think setting your mind first for what you may need to be prepared for, and then once you do that, your body kind of follows suit. So just preparing mentally for a tough physical matchup, and taking it from there.”
Brown has been in the playoffs every year he’s been healthy, only missing one run because of a wrist injury. Each year has presented Brown with a new challenge. For the first time in his career, he’ll have to perform with his athleticism compromised.
“A quote that I recently learned yesterday is like, you never step in the same river twice,” Brown said. “One year is not the same as the next. So you should be different by the time you get to that next year, whether you grew, whether you learn, whether you experience, whatever the case may be. So I'm excited. This year is different. It's a different team, different mentality, to some degree. But it's the same business. We got to execute.”
Quoting the pre-Socratic Greek philosopher Heraclitis is actually more appropriate than just using his most famous concept.
Yes, the notion that both the water and the person have changed over time stands to Brown’s point. The next time you step in the water, what you were standing in before has flowed well downstream, and who you are as a human should be more advanced. Brown is wading into a different playoffs as a different person.
But Heraclitis also believed that strife and conflict made the world work. Where other wanted to rid the world of conflict can chaos, Heraclitis saw it as necessary. The tension of opposite forces, he believed, is what binds the world together.
Brown has to ride with the tension of his body challenging him. He has to embrace it, work with it, and find a way to be his best.
“I don't put too much pressure on myself. I just take it one day at a time and let things fall where they may,” Brown said. “I'm blessed and grateful to be in this position to be in the playoffs with a great opportunity. I've been playing basketball for a long time. I'm one of the best athletes in the world. So it's enough. We got enough. So we just got to figure it out as one day at a time as we go and my job is to help our guys And just continue to come out and play Celtic basketball. That's what it's about.”