Six games—that’s all what remains for the Celtics this regular season before they begin their playoff journey. Their goal? To become the first back-to-back champions since the Warriors did it in 2017 and 2018. But there is one major problem. Their reigning Finals MVP, Jaylen Brown, is playing through a lingering knee injury and not feeling his 100%. And his latest comments only raise more concerns.

Well, JB has frequently been in and out of the lineup recently dealing with right knee posterior impingement. His most recent absence was against the Grizzlies on Monday. So, when Brown returned to the lineup tonight for the Heat clash, everyone was eager to know how he was feeling. He said post-game, “Just pushing through it. Trying to find ways to still be aggressive and add value to the team and stuff like that. But something I gotta work through and manage.”

Turns out, his knee is still bothering him as he confessed that it “hurts.” So why not rest and let it heal? Many speculate that his decision to play through injury is because of the league’s 65-game eligibility criteria for regular season awards. But when asked if that was part of the equation, Brown shut down that notion with a cold one-word response —”NO”.

Although the superstar has made it clear, there are still major concerns about his health. Confirming the Celtics Nation’s fears, Brown gave further updates on his injury, “You know I’ve seen some specialists and stuff like that but you know we got a great medical staff and we got people around. Come playoffs, my goal is to be feeling my best. So, we just working through that and it’s a thing that we kind of manage and you push through.”

So, it’s clear that JB is not feeling his best right now. However, he has complete faith in the medical staff to get him ready for the playoffs, “We got a good plan in place.” Meanwhile, Joe Mazzulla has liked what he has seen from Jaylen so far despite the injury.

Joe Mazzulla praises Jaylen Brown after Heat loss as he reveals strategy to manage his injury

While the Celtics ended up getting blown out by the Heat tonight, there was one silver lining. Brown showed little to no signs of rust and dropped a team high 24 points. After the tough loss, Mazzulla had high praise for the reigning Finals MVP, “Thought he was good. I think getting his feet under him. Like the way he got to his spots, I like the way he competed defensively. To me, he just continues to look a little better and better each night and much more comfortable out there. That was a positive for us and good to see. He’s gotta continue to get that. I liked what he did tonight.”

Of course, Brown is still on a minute restriction and has averaged less than 30 minutes amid injury. That’s way below his season average of 34.8 minutes. And Mazzulla is having a hard time managing his minutes the right way, “It’s both right. You want him to continue to get in form. Continue to work and at the same time, find that balance to make sure he’s ready to go.”

At this point, its almost certain that the Cs will finish as the second seed. So, there is no point overexerting Brown and risking further injury. Letting him play 20-30 minutes each game will help him stay in rhythm for the playoffs while not causing more damage to his knee.

Moreover, Mazzulla has complete faith in his star player, “I trust him the way he prepares himself so whatever he thinks is best we’ll do.” So, although Brown is not at complete strength right now, he will hopefully get there once the playoffs begin. Thoughts?