Jaylen Brown evidently doesn’t like watching from the bench.
Brown missed Game 1 of the Boston Celtics’ second-round playoff series against the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night with a right hamstring injury despite trying to talk his way into the lineup leading up to the Eastern Conference showdown. His Game 2 status remains unclear, but the Celtics swingman has every intention of playing Thursday night at TD Garden.
“I’ll be back,” Brown told NBC Sports Boston after Game 1, which the Celtics won 117-101. “I’m playing.”
Of course, this doesn’t mean Brown definitely will return for Game 2. The Celtics played it safe for Game 1, and it’s entirely possible head coach Brad Stevens and the team’s medical staff will remain cautious.
There’s no denying Brown wants to get back on the floor, though. And the C’s sure could use the 21-year-old’s scoring touch despite firing on all cylinders in their Game 1 victory.
“But there was some concern that I could re-aggravate it and it becomes a season-ending injury,” Brown told NBC Sports Boston. “I’m basically trying to come back in two days from a two-week type injury.”
Brown suffered the injury in Game 7 of Boston’s first-round playoff series against the Milwaukee Bucks, which the Celtics won 112-96 to secure a date with the Sixers in Round 2.
