The league-leading Boston Celtics might need to deal with the absence of Jaylen Brown for their next game against the New York Knicks.
Advertisement
Holding onto the #1 seed 61 games into the season is no mean feat for this team. Though the Celtics made the NBA Finals last year and added Malcolm Brogdon, the whole mess around the Ime Udoka scandal could quite easily have derailed their campaign.
Instead, the team has rallied under new head coach Joe Mazzulla. The Celtics are the only team in the NBA to rank top-5 both in offensive as well as defensive ratings.
The offense, in particular, has been scintillating to watch when the team is on. A large part of this has to do with the scoring threat carried by Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
The duo has been the league’s most reliable pairing in the NBA. Both players can make any shot in any situation and have got the clutch gene.
“The ultimate goal for me and Jayson has always been to win games… it’s no problem being a great team guy & winning in Boston.”
Jaylen Brown on fitting into a role with the #Celtics and co-existing with fellow All-Star, Jayson Tatum 🤝💚#BleedGreen pic.twitter.com/I9WntgWL5h
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) February 19, 2023
Is Jaylen Brown playing tonight vs New York Knicks? How do the Celtics line up?
Jaylen Brown has been given the night off by the Boston Celtics for personal reasons. The team didn’t shed more light on this while releasing the injury report for this game.
In addition, ‘Buffalo’ Derrick White has also been placed on the list after a collision in the latter stages of the Celtics’ narrow win over the Sixers this weekend.
Celtics Injury Report vs. New York tomorrow night:
Jaylen Brown – Personal Reasons – OUT
Danilo Gallinari – Left Knee ACL Repair – OUT
Derrick White – Right Ankle Sprain – PROBABLE— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) February 26, 2023
Given that White has been deemed ‘probable’, the best recourse for the Celtics would be to start Malcolm Brogdon alongside Marcus Smart tonight. Joe Mazzulla will likely opt for the size of Robert Williams alongside Al Horford to round out the starting five.
Jaylen Brown stats this season
Brown has been having the best season of his career thus far, in terms of volume scoring. The 26-year-old is averaging 26.5 points, 7 rebounds, and 3.2 dimes per game.
Brown’s 3-point shooting seems to have nosedived as he only averages 33.6% on the year. However, he’s making a career-high 57.4% of his 2-point attempts, including career highs from 3-10 feet and 10-16 feet.
