Al Horford praises Jaylen Brown’s performance on the defensive end of the court all season and makes the case for why his teammate deserves First Team All-Defense honors this year.
Jaylen Brown had missed two of the Celtics' previous five games and was listed as questionable Wednesday before getting the green light for Boston's matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder at TD Garden.
So, what's the nature of Brown's injury, and how is it impacting him on the court?
After the Celtics' resounding 135-100 win over the Thunder, Brown shared an update on his injured left hand, which appeared to bother him at times throughout the game.
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"I think I've got a sprain or a strain on a ligament in my hand," Brown told reporters. "But I think it's fine. It's something I'm not really concerned with going forward.
"It bothered me a little bit tonight, but part of it is working through it, playing through it because it gives you more information towards down the line if things were to get any worse. But I think it's nothing to be concerned about."
Brown struggled through the first three quarters, committing five turnovers while scoring just eight points on 4 of 14 shooting (0 for 5 from 3-point range). At least one of those turnovers came off his left hand, which may concern Celtics fans who remember Brown struggling with his ball-handling last postseason.
But the three-time All-Star responded with a huge fourth quarter, scoring 15 points on 5 of 6 shooting over the final 12 minutes with a pair of assists and no turnovers to finish the night with 23 points and four assists.
That final quarter inspired confidence that Brown's left hand injury won't be an issue come playoff time. The 27-year-old is enjoying arguably his best all-around season, averaging 23.2 points on a career-high 50.2 percent shooting to go along with a career-high 3.6 assists per game and stellar defensive play.
MORE CELTICS COVERAGE
"Being very unbiased, very clear, (Jaylen) is First-Team All-Defense," Celtics veteran Al Horford said of Brown after Wednesday's win, as seen in the video above. "You look at what he's doing individually and the impact that he makes on the defensive end ... he deserves to be in that position."
The Celtics clinched the NBA's No. 1 overall seed with Wednesday night's win, so don't be surprised if they play it safe with Brown's injury and hold him out of a few games down the stretch of the regular season.
