Jaylen Brown, studying Paul Pierce game tape, looks to adjust his game for injury

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BOSTON — Paul Pierce sat along the baseline closest to the Celtics’ bench Friday night, celebrating his daughter’s birthday. When the giant video screen showed him during Boston’s 123-103 win against the Suns, the crowd hit what was likely its loudest volume of the night.

For years, Pierce inspired the Celtics faithful. Even now, he is inspiring at least one of the current team’s stars. Jaylen Brown, fighting through a persistent knee issue, said it was funny to see Pierce at the game. In hopes of remodeling his game to account for the athleticism his injury has taken away, Brown spent some time earlier in the day studying old Pierce tape.

“I was watching some Paul Pierce footage,” Brown said. “Just getting to your spots, playing at a certain pace.”

Pierce mastered the elbows. Nobody could force him to speed up. He didn’t need to fly by a defender, though he could do that too, especially in his younger days. But think back to some of the most lasting Pierce highlights. Yapping at Al Harrington. Waiting for the right time to strike. Splashing home a 3-pointer over the top of Harrington’s head. Or the game-winning jumper over Amare Stoudemire. Drive right, stop, step back, game. Or all the pull-up jumpers from Pierce’s Game 7 duel with LeBron James. Pierce didn’t necessarily need to flash past anyone. He played to the tick of his own clock.

It really means everything ☘️ https://t.co/J4C4XqIBYw pic.twitter.com/I06UvMmm6U

— Boston Celtics (@celtics) April 5, 2025

Brown is working to slow down, too, if only out of necessity. Currently at less than full strength, Brown believes he can’t fully play his normal style right now. That must be a frustrating reality, especially with the playoffs so close. Still, as he sees the world, bad news is an opportunity to learn. If he must reimagine himself and his game, he intends to adapt. After a 31-point outing against Phoenix, Brown seemed most excited that he didn’t need to rely on his usual methods.

“What have I learned (while playing through the injury)?” Brown said. “I learned that I have a lot of skill. My skill level is high, as we seen tonight. No dunks, no transition points, what I’m used to doing.”

Brown didn’t need any dunks to shoot 10-for-16 from the field. He still made six shots inside the paint, including four layups. He drew nine free-throw attempts, two fewer than the entire Suns roster.

“Just learning to make adjustments,” Brown said. “I probably relied on my athleticism a lot this season. But like, using more of my skill, you know, playing a little bit slower, which can sometimes be a good thing. So it’s all about just figuring that out, and I’ve been using these games to kind of figure it out, and just take it one day at a time.”

At times, Brown’s physical limitations were evident. On one drive to the baseline past the smaller Tyus Jones, Brown likely would have risen for a dunk if entirely healthy. Instead, he powered up and finished below the rim. With Grayson Allen guarding him early in the fourth quarter, Brown slowly and methodically worked his way into a short floater. He didn’t create much space, but finished through contact anyway for an and-1.

“Today I felt like I didn’t have my normal burst, but I was still able to be effective,” Brown said. “So I think that’s good.”

Brown has opened up several times recently about the frustrating knee issue. Though he has played through pain some nights, he has also missed four games since March 18. When he has suited up, he has needed to deal with a minutes restriction. Adding to the concern surrounding his injury, his discomfort has become obvious at times on the court. He has said that he has needed to accept that he won’t feel his best every night. He has been honest enough about his physical struggles that questions have arisen about whether he should be playing at all.

“As we continue to move forward, I’m hoping to feel better and better,” Jaylen Brown said. “But there’s no guarantee that rest or anything like that is going to make this thing better, so kind of figuring it out and going through it and getting ready for the playoffs.” (Winslow Townson / Imagn Images)

Brown seemed to notice the irony of the conversation surrounding his availability.

“You normally see people complain about when people are choosing not to play,” Brown said. “I’ve never experienced it the other way around, where I’m playing and people are encouraging me not to.”

People have recently. Because, with the Celtics all but promised to finish second in the Eastern Conference, these games at the end of the regular season are essentially meaningless from a win-loss standpoint. With the playoffs so close, supporters want Brown to focus on his longer-term health. If he’s not 100 percent now, as he has acknowledged, why not prioritize rest?

Brown suggested Friday that there’s no promise rest would help.

“As we continue to move forward, I’m hoping to feel better and better,” Brown said. “But there’s no guarantee that rest or anything like that is going to make this thing better, so kind of figuring it out and going through it and getting ready for the playoffs.”

Brown’s form while playing through the injury has been simultaneously promising and frightening. Even while admittedly hobbled to some extent, he has consistently scored efficiently. Over his six games on limited minutes, he has averaged 18.3 points per game (23.9 points per 36 minutes) on 52.6-percent shooting, including 41.4-percent on 3-point attempts. The Celtics have outscored opponents by 17.1 points per 100 possessions during his playing time in those games, with an avalanche of offense when he’s on the court. The pain hasn’t stopped him from reaching the paint and either finishing inside or locating an open teammate.

“I thought JB set the tone with his physicality driving to the basket,” Coach Joe Mazzulla said after beating Phoenix.

With five games left in the regular season and potentially one or two short playoff series after that, Brown expects to continue improving over time. He hopes to feel better physically by the time the postseason arrives.

Still, not all signs have flashed green. Brown said he doesn’t know when his minutes restriction will end. In the playoffs, he typically handles a grueling role for the Celtics. En route to winning the Finals MVP award, he consistently picked up Luka Doncic full-court while still holding onto enough energy to average 20.8 points and five assists per game. Brown never wore down. When asked if he expects to be able to handle all of those responsibilities in the postseason, he said, “We’ll see.”

“I’m still learning,” Brown said, “and I’m still hoping that we got some stuff that we’re looking to do to make myself feel a lot better going into the playoffs. I’m still learning, so every day, I’m just taking it one day at a time. Obviously, I haven’t felt my best over the last couple of days, the last couple of weeks, but you kind of just got to roll with the punches, I guess. It is what it is. It sucks. I wish I could share more details, but whatever my team needs, whatever I can do, whatever I got, I’m gonna give. So I’m looking forward to just taking it one day at a time, and I’m hopeful that some things will improve over the course of this next two weeks or so.”

Even with Brown’s bumpy health, the Celtics have been rolling as the playoffs draw close. They broke the record Friday for most 3-pointers by a team in a single season. They have won 13 of their last 15 games and boast the league’s top-ranked offense during that stretch. After a rare game with every player available against Phoenix, Jayson Tatum smiled when asked about competing with a full roster.

“It hasn’t happened a lot,” Tatum said, “but I think it’s gonna happen a lot more coming up. So just enjoy it. It’s so much fun and we play with so much joy all the time, but especially when everybody’s healthy. You can see it from the starters to the guys off the bench to the reactions from the guys on the bench. We’re just out there having a lot of fun.”

For the defending champions, Brown’s knee issue looms as a threat. The timing of the injury could only have been worse if it had popped up during the playoffs. As it is, Brown has time to work on his body. He has time to mentally adjust to his sudden downshift in athleticism. He said he has even worked on new stuff during games.

“I appreciate Joe (Mazzulla) because he’s given me grace even though, like, he’s letting me feel through it,” Brown said. “He kind of understands where it’s at, and he’s letting me play through some stuff. Even last game, I took some ill-advised shots, and that was just a part of me trying to figure out, like where I can go (on the court). And, you know what I mean, I still want him to hold me to that same standard, but I appreciate Joe for the communication and stuff like that. And it’s good to have that now rather than trying to figure it out once everything is on the line.”

(Top photo of Jaylen Brown going to the basket against Devin Booker: Brian Fluharty / Getty Images)

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