With just a few games left in the regular season, the Boston Celtics are sitting pretty. Boston holds the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference standings, and they aren’t playing for seeding purposes any longer.
This allows the team to prioritize rest in the final few games as they get ready for their title defense. But there has been a lingering injury to star forward Jaylen Brown over the past few weeks.
Brown has been playing through the injury, but the team has still seen some pain from him. Center Kristaps Porzingis has called for the team to shut him down until the postseason to prioritize rest.
And it seems that the organization may have listened. Boston has ruled Brown out for their game against the Charlotte Hornets on Friday.
Porzingis understands the need for Brown come playoff time, so he would rather he just get himself right. With the Celtics already clinched, there is no need for Brown to be playing anymore than needed at this time.
“He’s a tough dude,” Porzingis told reporters, per MassLive’s Souichi Terada. “He always preaches his warrior mindset and he lives by it. But to what extent do we need that right now? Maybe he needs to take care of it and make sure he’s going to be ready for the most important moments.”
“So I think we just have to urge him to make sure he does everything he needs to prepare, to get it healthy and to prepare for what’s going to come. And I think he’s a smart guy. So he will. It just shows his heart and how bad he wants to be out there even for games that don’t mean super much for us right now. But that’s who he is and I appreciate him for that.”
Boston has all the tools to be successful in the postseason, but health will be the most crucial piece. If the Celtics are healthy, they will likely be seen as the favorites to win it all again.
Brown is a big part in that and it seems Boston is prioritizing health over everything.
