Should the Celtics Be Concerned After Jaylen Brown Falls, Clutches Surgically-Repaired Wrist?

Things have been clicking for the Boston Celtics over the last six weeks, but things got a bit tense midway through the fourth quarter of Thursday’s victory over the Brooklyn Nets. Celtics swingman Jaylen Brown went down midway through the fourth quarter as he was defending a layup in a lopsided victory.

Brown remained down for a few seconds, clutching the left wrist that required season-ending surgery last year. He came out of the game, and all first-year coach Ime Udoka could say after the game was Brown was “fine,” although the scene had an all-too-familiar vibe.

The Boston Celtics didn’t miss a beat in their first game after the break

Heading into All-Star Weekend, the Celtics had won nine of their last 10 games. They were the hottest team in the league after a rough and frustrating start to the season. By the looks of things, they haven’t skipped a beat.

Although the Nets were heavily undermanned, the Celtics did what they were supposed to do in a 129-106 victory.

“We feel like we found something the past few weeks,” Boston’s Al Horford said, per The Athletic. “It’s just good that after the break we came out and there (were) no steps back.”

Jayson Tatum scored 30 points, and Brown added 18 as all five Boston starters scored in double figures. There was no letdown after the break.

“It felt like we didn’t come out rusty at all,” Udoka said. “That’s a mentally focused group that came out. That’s a mentally focused group that came out and executed and defended well. Picked up where we left off before the break.”

Should the Celtics be concerned about Jaylen Brown’s wrist injury?

The game was well in hand for the Celtics midway through the fourth quarter, but they had to hold their breath when Brown went down hard after defending on a layup. As he was on the floor behind the baseline, he clutched his left wrist, sending many Celtics fans into a panic.

After the game, Udoka didn’t offer a whole lot on the injury.

“He said he’s fine,” Udoka said of Brown. “He just landed on it on the foul, but (the starters) were coming out at that point anyway. So when he came out he said, ‘I’m fine.’”

Brown said the same thing last year right before he had season-ending surgery on that same wrist.

Last April, Brown injured himself late in a game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. He remained on the floor after a hard foul as he was going in for a layup.

According to Boston.com, after that Thunder game, Brown simply said, “I’m okay.”

He played the next two games before getting shelved for the rest of the year. He had surgery in mid-May.

Just how good are the Celtics?

There hasn’t been a team in the NBA this year that’s been on more of a roller-coaster ride than the Celtics. They happen to be one of the hottest teams in the league at the moment. Can they stay there?

Early on, the Celtics were a mess. They hovered around the .500 mark until their nine-game win streak right before the break.

Can that be chalked up to playing under a new coach? Did it take 50 games for them to adjust to him? It’s a tough read because this same team, led by Brown and Tatum, finished the 2020-21 season with a 36-36 mark and was bounced in the first round of the playoffs.

Maybe the Celtics are still finding themselves. The second half will be telling, but Boston first needs to hope Brown’s wrist injury isn’t a case of deja vu.

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