BOSTON — Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown exited Saturday night’s Game 7 win against the Milwaukee Bucks in the second quarter because of a sore right hamstring, and he didn’t return despite the team announcing he was available to come back.
Brown will undergo further tests Sunday and hopes to play when the C’s welcome the Philadelphia 76ers for Game 1 of their second-round NBA playoff series Monday night.
“It’s a little sore. It could be worse,” Brown said. “I’m told it was Grade 1. I’ll get an MRI (Sunday), see how it feels and go from there.”
Brown prefers not to take pills for anything, but with Round 2 less than 48 hours away, the second-year guard is willing to do whatever treatment is necessary to be on the floor for the series opener.
“Massage, rest, ice, all of the above,” Brown said. “I hate taking pills. I probably haven’t taken a pill in over 10 years. But they’ve got me taking anti-inflammatories and stuff like that. So just whatever it takes, because I wouldn’t miss this next series for the world.”
Will Brown be ready for Monday?
“Yeah, that’s my goal,” he said.
The Celtics survived Round 1 despite missing several important players because of injuries. The 76ers are much better than the Bucks, though, so Boston can ill-afford not to have Brown and his elite defense and reliable shooting on the floor.
