Jaylen Brown was reportedly playing through injury during their Eastern Conference semifinal matchup against the New York Knicks. The Boston Celtics were sent back home after a disappointing loss in Game 6. While many believed the Celtics could go back-to-back this season, the Knicks shattered that reality.
However, despite New York establishing their dominance, Jayson Tatum's Game 4 exit still played a major factor. Not only did the Celtics lose their best player, but their second-best player, Brown, was also in apparent pain.
Ramona Shelburne reported that Jaylen Brown was playing through a torn meniscus throughout the 2025 NBA Playoffs. Having that in mind, some fans now believe that the New York Knicks only managed to beat the Boston Celtics because two of their best players were injured.

Explore the NBA Draft 2024 with our free NBA Mock Draft Simulator & be the GM of your favorite NBA team.
Here's what some fans had to say on X, formerly Twitter:
"The Knicks can only beat injured teams"
"Confirmed Knicks can only beat injured teams. Tatum torn Achilles. Brown torn meniscus. KP Aids."
Here are other fan reactions on X:
"Something needs to change about the NBA season. The playoffs are becoming whichever team is healthiest wins. There’s no other sport ie hockey, baseball, soccer, & football that has this many injuries postseason," one pointed out.
"Ok these are fine but can someone explain they keep announcing this AFTER the series is over and team has lost," one questioned.
"Seemed fine all series now all of a sudden he’s “hurt” lmao," one wrote.
"having a torn meniscus doesn't excuse the fact to why you blew 2 20pt leads in back to back games at home," one said.
Jaylen Brown expresses thoughts on semifinals exit
The Boston Celtics' journey of going back-to-back ended after the New York Knicks dethroned the defending champions in six games. Without question, the Celtics did their best to dominate once again in the NBA. However, due to health concerns, they failed to remain consistent in the playoffs.
Jaylen Brown opened up about what it's like to fail to defend their championship this season.
"It'll take time," Brown said postgame. "Just sit back and kind of figure it out. But I'm excited. Things didn't go our way this year and it's unfortunate. But we hold our head up, regardless. Losing to the Knicks feels like death. But I was taught that there’s life after death. So we’ll get ready for whatever’s next.”
While Jaylen Brown remains optimistic for next season, rumors suggest that the current Celtics core may no longer be together in their next campaign.
New York Knicks Fan? Check out the latest Knicks depth chart, schedule, and roster updates all in one place.