Jaylen Brown doesn't sound too worried about his hand injury impacting his shot during playoffs

BOSTON -- When news broke last week that Jaylen Brown had cut his shooting hand and needed stitches, it left an unsettling feeling among Celtics fans. Having one of the team's star players dealing with a hand injury just ahead of the postseason was not the kind of news anyone wanted to hear.

But Brown practiced without any limitations on Thursday, and on Friday, he practiced without any stitches. Brown told reporters after Boston's practice on Friday that his five stitches have been removed, and he's on the way to being fully recovered from his freak accident.

That accident happened on April 6, when Brown cut his hand cleaning up a broken vase. Who knew that watering your plants could be more hazardous than driving the lane in the NBA?

Brown hopes that the injury won't affect him too much when the Celtics tip off their postseason against the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday afternoon. He's still about a week away from being fully healed, so he is still taking some precautions.

This is, after all, the most important time of the year. So Brown has been experimenting with some tape. Lots of tape, and lots of different configurations with that tape.

The iteration that Brown tried Friday worked the best, in his mind.

"I got like a bunch of different things, different methods that I've been trying over the last two days," said Brown. "But the one I tried today I think works the best. So I think I'm going to go with that. There's like some protective stuff around it."

Brown said the tape job lessens the pain in his hand, which is a good thing. You don't want to mess around with what Brown had going during the regular season, when he shot a career-best 49 percent from the floor. He was even better in his two games against Atlanta, hitting 57 percent overall, despite shooting just 18 percent from three-point range.

"I don't think it impacts too much. Maybe a little bit," he admitted. "A little different feel on the ball. ... Just block it out and do the best you can."

Brown and the Celtics came up short in the NBA Finals last season, though Brown did everything he could to help his team get its hands on the Larry O'Brien Trophy. Brown said that the agony of their 6-game loss to the Warriors in the Finals isn't on his mind (He responded that the "next" NBA Finals is at the forefront right now), but said it will continue to motivate him and his teammates.

"[It teaches you] humility and having respect for your opponent, and this whole process," he said. "It's a beautiful game we get to play and this is the biggest stage in basketball. Coming out every game having gratefulness, humility. You have to be ready to play. That gives you the ultimate vantage point."

The Celtics and the Hawks tip off their playoff series Saturday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. at TD Garden.