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Holiday reacts to Brown's knee injury: ‘Nobody's worried about him' originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The status of Jaylen Brown’s right knee is one of the biggest storylines for the Boston Celtics as they prepare for Game 1 of their first-round series in the 2025 NBA playoffs on Sunday.

Brown appeared to be less than 100 percent healthy over the last couple weeks. He didn’t have his normal workload in several matchups and missed three of Boston’s seven games in April.

Brown was a participant in Celtics practice Tuesday, and his teammates gave a positive report on how he looked.

“He looked great today,” Celtics forward Al Horford told reporters. “I was very happy to see him out there doing everything. It’s a really good sign for us.

Horford added: “Jaylen is very strong mentally and he finds a way. He’s the type — he’s out here putting in the work and trying to get himself ready to go. He understands what’s in front of us. I know that mentally he’s gonna be in a good place.”

Celtics point guard Jrue Holiday also came away impressed by Brown’s practice.

“He looked good to me,” Holiday told reporters. “JB is gonna be JB in terms of not showing weakness. Everything is about not showing weakness and being the strongest mentally and physically. Nobody’s worried about him. We know he wants to be on the court every time we play. We also know he’s going to be prepared.”

Brown averaged 22.2 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game this season. He was named to the All-Star Game in February and would have been a candidate for All-NBA Third Team had he played in 65-plus games.

For the Celtics to play at their apex during the playoffs, they’ll need Brown to be an effective scorer and an elite defender, like he was in the postseason last year en route to winning NBA Finals MVP.

The Celtics will know their first round opponent Tuesday night when the Atlanta Hawks and Orlando Magic square off in the No. 7 vs. No. 8 play-in tournament game. The winner will come to Boston to begin Round 1.

During the NBA playoffs, fans see the returns on 82 hard-fought regular season games and all unanswered questions become clear as day -- sometimes in ways staggeringly unexpected.

With the postseason starting later this week, here are five bold predictions for what will happen...

1. Pacers and Clippers take out fledgling franchises

The No. 4 vs. No. 5 seed matchups in each conference often provide much of the first round entertainment, and feature two teams usually close in talent and performance. This spring's slate -- likely to be enjoyable -- will actually serve better as a ceremonial goodbye to the reigns of two once-contenders.

The Pacers will be taking on the Bucks, who will be playing without veteran star Damian Lillard after a rocky and ineffective season. Milwaukee is no longer a feared Eastern Conference elite, and this will only be reaffirmed when Indiana advances to the next round.

Meanwhile in the West, the Clippers will challenge the Nuggets, who just recently fired the major architects of their 2023 championship team -- head coach Michael Malone and general manager Calvin Booth. Denver is clearly moving toward a transition period, and Los Angeles is eager to push them along, having found success behind a healthy Kawhi Leonard and James Harden.

2. Julius Randle comes around

After spending the first half of his career falling short of the playoffs, Julius Randle finally led the Knicks there in three of four seasons, only to be haunted by the experiences that followed. He crumbled in 2021, struggled through injury in 2023, and completely missed 2024 with a shoulder issue.

But this is the time Randle turns it around. He looked increasingly comfortable as his first season with the Timberwolves progressed, and a nice first-round matchup with the wing-heavy Lakers creates plenty of opportunity for him in a critical contract year.

Expect the usual, rumbling, stat-stuffing Randle in this year’s playoffs. Minnesota may not be able to make a deep run, but it won’t be because he fell short again.

3. Playoff version of Jalen Brunson defies doubters (again)

Like clockwork, the playoffs arrive and Brunson’s prior work is immediately forgotten -- this time in order to stamp rising star Cade Cunningham as the best player in the Knicks-Pistons series.

For those who need reminding: During last year's playoffs, Brunson became the first player since Michael Jordan to record four consecutive 40-point games. That's also only a snapshot of what he’s been able to achieve in the postseason.

Once again, expect Brunson to block out the noise and have, at the very least, a spectacular first-round series for New York. He shouldn’t have anything left to prove against Detroit, but if the dissenters insist on clamoring, the added motivation is welcome.

4. Lakers make Western Conference Finals push

It’s hard to predict anything but chalk in this year’s bracket, with so many juggernauts leading the standings. But one team that could surprise with the strength of their push is the Lakers, who've resembled an entirely different squad since acquiring superstar Luka Doncic.

They’re probably a year removed from truly contending, but they boast a flexible and suffocating defense. And playing on the side of the bracket that includes the Timberwolves, the Rockets, and play-in tournament teams allows them to avoid the West's grim reaper. Los Angeles also has two of the best playoff performers of their respective generations, both with chips on their shoulders.

5. Thunder over Celtics in NBA Finals

Perhaps this isn’t "bold," per se, but the likeliest outcomes don’t always come true -- and some still favor Boston as the NBA’s kingpin. But the pick to win it all is Oklahoma City in six games. They have more functional depth, even more lineup flexibility, and the likely MVP of the league in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Why Ja vs. Podz and GP2 is matchup to watch vs. Grizzlies originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

• Programming Note: Tune into “Warriors Pregame Live” at 6 p.m. PT on Tuesday on NBC Sports Bay Area before the Warriors and Grizzlies tip-off. Immediately after the final buzzer, tune back in for “Warriors Postgame Live.”

Though the Warriors would like to forget the events of May 21, 2021, they would be wise to remember every ugly minute when they take the floor Tuesday night.

They’re facing the same team, Memphis. At the same location, Chase Center. Under the similar circumstances, the NBA Play-In Tournament.

The previous such occasion was a disaster, the Warriors losing in overtime under a flood of turnovers and 35 points from Grizzlies star point guard Ja Morant.

Morant will be back in Golden State’s face this time around, and containing him will be a priority. Coverage on NBC Sports Bay Area begins at 6 p.m. with “Warriors Pregame Live,” with “Warriors Postgame Live” immediately following the TNT telecast. Tipoff is scheduled for 7.

The Warriors dropped into the play-in tournament Sunday after a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, whose point guard, James Harden, exploited a rotation of defenders and finished with a game-high 39 points.

Morant isn’t the offensive conductor that Harden is, but he’s appreciably shiftier and more explosive. With Moses Moody (back spasms) listed as questionable, keeping Morant in check will require the best of Brandin Podziemski and Gary Payton II. That group was unsuccessful Sunday.

“He’s an All Star; he’s going to score points,” Podziemski told reporters Tuesday morning after shootaround. “But the things that help him get into a rhythm are the things you try to take away. That’s with any great player, but free throws and transition are where he scores a lot of his points. You try to take one or one or both of those away and it gives us good chance.”

If Morant is having his way against that tag-team duo or trio, it is conceivable that coach Steve Kerr would turn to uber-athletic wing Jonathan Kuminga, who was banished from Golden State’s rotation against the Clippers.

Neither Payton nor Kuminga was available two weeks ago in Memphis, where Morant dropped 36 points, on 14-of-22 shooting from the field, including 5-of-8 from distance. The Warriors pulled out a 134-125 victory behind 52 points from Stephen Curry.

An important development in that win was Golden State’s fourth-quarter defense. The Grizzlies scored 112 points through three quarters but managed only 22 in the fourth, as the Warriors forced Morant into four turnovers, with two steals by Jimmy Butler III and one steal each by Draymond Green and Buddy Hield.

There are other factors in play, most significant being rebounding. The Warriors, the league’s No. 3 rebounding team through the first four months, tumbled to 14th after the All-Star break – coinciding with Kerr’s mostly rewarding commitment to a small starting lineup. Memphis is a strong rebounding team, No. 2 this season and sixth since the break.

But the top goal for the Warriors is to avoid turnovers and prevent Morant from getting into a rhythm, much less taking over the game as he did four years ago.

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