Celtics Jaylen Brown targeting return Sunday - mom says no more dunking


All indications are that Jaylen Brown will rejoin his teammates on the hardwood this Sunday against the Sacramento Kings. He has been out of action and on NBA concussion protocol since a near-catastrophic fall on March 8 during a game versus the Timberwolves.


The fall occurred on a usual, high-flying signature dunk by Jaylen, but it didn't end in the usual fashion - thus the concussion protocol. For most of us, there is no one on this earth as protective of you as your mom, and Jaylen's is no different.


We all cringed at the sight of Brown slamming to the floor. It reminded us too vividly of Gordon Hayward's injury at the start of the season. Here is the Boston Globe's Adam Himmelsbach on Jaylen's fall:

He remembers going up for a powerful two-handed dunk, just as he had done so many times before.

And then he remembers that brief, terrifying moment when all the momentum from his surge had left his body almost parallel to the court, and his hands slipped off of the rim. It is probably for the best that he doesn’t remember the impact, when his upper back took the brunt as it slammed into the hardwood floor.

“I remember waking up, and there were a bunch of people standing around me,” he said. “I was like, ‘What the hell is going on?’ I had no idea I’d been out for like 30 seconds."

Why so many injuries in the NBA? Long season? Too many games? Poor nutrition? Too-little recovery time? The explosiveness and athleticism of the current athletes? That will be a separate article, but early in the season, I wrote the following in a CelticsLife article titled, Can Jaylen Brown become a superstar?

He (Jaylen Brown) needs to control his athleticism. His leaping ability and long reach lead to missed dunks on offense and fouls on defense. I think we have to realize that he played limited minutes in his rookie season. Players don't acquire a high basketball IQ by simply watching the game. They need the experience.

Jaylen's mom is partially right. I would hate to see his dunks go away, but he still needs to "control his athleticism". Athletic training teaches a lot of acceleration but limited deceleration. I think Brown will be working on the latter a bit more.

Follow Tom at TomLaneHC

Photo via Jim Mone/AP






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