Jaylon Tyson wrapped up his rookie regular season with the Cleveland Cavaliers by scoring a season-high 31 points on Sunday.
Jaylen Brown’s ninth NBA season with the Boston Celtics ended with him missing the final three games because of a bone bruise in his right knee.
The playoffs begin Sunday for both teams — the top seeds in the Eastern Conference — and only one of the former one-and-done Cal players is expected to see action.
Brown, the three-time all-star and reigning NBA Finals MVP, was a full participant in practice Tuesday, according to the Boston Globe, suggesting he will be ready when the No. 2 seed Celtics (61-21) host the Orlando Magic (41-41).
“He looked great today,” forward Al Horford told the Globe. “I was very happy to see him out there doing everything. It’s a really good sign for us.”
Tyson, who earned All-Pac-12 honors for Cal a year ago after arriving from Texas Tech, played in 47 games for the Cavs (64-18), whose first-round playoff opponent has yet to be determined.
But on a deep, veteran roster, the 22-year-old’s opportunity often was limited to late-game minutes in one-sided games. In 17 appearances since the start of February, the 6-foot-6 wing played more than 20 minutes once until the final two games, by which point Cleveland had secured its playoff status.
He got his third start of the season Sunday when the Cavs held out eight players for either rest or injury. Besides scoring 31 points, Tyson had seven rebounds, four assists and three steals but also five turnovers as the Cavaliers blew a 23-point lead in the final 8 minutes of a 126-118 double-overtime loss to Indiana.
Tyson finished the regular season averaging 3.6 points and 2.0 rebounds, including 16 points against New Orleans on Nov. 20 and 15 vs. Miami on Jan. 29. He missed seven games in March due to soreness in his left knee, had eight DNPs the past two months and seems likely to add to that total in the postseason.
Brown, 28, has dealt with his knee ailment since missing four of five games during a stretch in mid-March. The Globe noted that upon returning to action he didn’t show his usual explosiveness.
But after practice Tuesday, guard Jrue Holiday expressed confidence Brown will be his old self on Sunday.
“I think he’s fine,” Holiday said. “I’m pretty sure if y’all asked him, he’d be fine, too. I think it’s whatever it takes to win. We’ve seen people step up throughout the whole year, I guess the last two years. We’ll continue to do that.
“Supporting him is honestly whatever he needs. If he needs a break, which, knowing JB, he probably won’t, and he probably won’t even accept it if he needs it, but whatever it is, we’ll be there for him.”
Brown, who played the 2015-16 season at Cal before being the No. 3 pick in the NBA draft, averaged 22.2 points in 63 games this season, his lowest mark since 2019-20. He also provided the Celtics a career-best 4.5 assists.
ESPN reported last week that Brown received a pain-management injection.
He hasn’t spoken with reporters since then, but Horford isn’t worried. “I know that, mentally, he’s going to be in a good place,” he said. “I’m just excited to see him go from this point forward.”
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