Illness Sidelines Celtics Jaylen Brown Against Bucks
By Matthew Geagan, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Celtics will be without one of their best players for their toughest game of the season. Jaylen Brown, who is off to a monster start this season, has been ruled out for Wednesday night's clash with the Milwaukee Bucks due to an illness.
That will leave Boston massively undermanned against reigning NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, who may score 80 points on Wednesday. Brown figured to be a prime candidate to lead Boston's defensive charge against Antetokounmpo, and he spoke about loving the challenge of going up against a player with Antetokounmpo's talent on Tuesday. That unfortunately will no longer happen.
It will really boil down to a full team effort for the Celtics against Antetokounmpo on Wednesday night, and now it will be even more difficult for Boston without their full team. Without Brown, the Celtics could turn to Marcus Smart in their starting lineup, and he's always up to play some solid, pesky D against bigger players. Rookie Grant Williams will also likely see a lot more minutes on Wednesday night while first-round pick Romeo Langford, cleared to make his NBA debut, could also get plenty of run for Boston.
One somewhat positive injury note for Boston: center Daniel Theis will be available after he was initially termed a game-time decision with an ankle sprain. His six fouls could come in handy against Giannis.