Jaylen Brown Questionable To Return Tuesday Night Against Jazz
By Matthew Geagan, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Celtics could certainly use Jaylen Brown as they wrap up a five-game road trip out west on Tuesday night. But the swingman is questionable for Boston's tilt against the Utah Jazz and is in jeopardy of missing his third straight game with knee soreness.
That's not great news for Boston, with the Jazz entering the matchup with the best record in the NBA at 19-5. Utah owns the second-best point differential in the league at plus-8.6, and has won four straight and nine of its last 10. Brown would go a long way in helping limit Donovan Mitchell, who is averaging 26.8 points over Utah's four-game win streak.
Celtics head coach Brad Stevens told 98.5 The Sports Hub's Zolak & Bertrand on Tuesday morning that Brown felt good Monday and that he's hopeful that Brown will play against the Jazz. But they won't know until after Brown goes through shootaround before the game.
Boston has been able to go 1-1 without Brown, winning Friday night against the Paul George-less Clippers before falling to the Phoenix Suns on Sunday. Stevens said over the weekend that Brown did not suffer the injury on a particular play, but that it was the result of Brown's heavy workload this season. Brown had played in every game prior to missing Friday night's game.
Brown is having a career year for the Celtics, averaging 26.4 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists over 33.1 minutes per game.
If he's forced to sit out a third straight game, the Celtics would once again lean heavily on Jayson Tatum. He has averaged 28.5 points over the last two games, but shot just 8-for-22 in Sunday's loss to the Suns. Kemba Walker continues to be up-and-down for the Celtics, hitting just four of his 20 shots Sunday afternoon after going 9-for-19 Friday night against the Clippers.
The Celtics could really use Brown back in the lineup against one of the NBA's best teams, but they may have to wait until Thursday night's home game against the Toronto Raptors.