Jaylen Brown out for Celtics vs. Nets with knee injury
The Boston Celtics will not have Jaylen Brown on Tuesday night when the Brooklyn Nets come to town. Brown has been ruled out for the contest with a right knee impingement.
Tuesday night will be the second straight game between the Celtics and the Nets, after Boston escaped with a 115-113 victory in Brooklyn on Saturday night. Brown scored eight points over his 24 minutes of action in that contest, but left in the second half with an injury.
However, Brown left Saturday's game with back spasms and not the knee injury that will sideline him Tuesday night. Brown played just six minutes in the third quarter in Brooklyn before leaving the game for good. He also missed last Friday's win in Miami, and was listed with a right knee injury for that absence.
Tuesday night will be the 13th game Brown has missed this season, but it could simply be the Celtics giving the All-Star a little extra rest at a late juncture in the regular season. The Celtics won't play again until Friday night in Utah, so Brown will have a nice break before he suits up again -- assuming he is good-to-go against the Jazz.
With Brown sidelined, Payton Pritchard and Sam Hauser will likely play an increased role for the Celtics, while Baylor Scheierman could get some more run off the Boston bench.
Kristaps Porzingis NOT on injury report
In addition to Brown, Jayson Tatum was also on Boston's injury report on Monday night, listed as questionable for Tuesday's game with right knee tendinopathy. Chances are he'll play, because Tatum is an ironman that doesn't like to sit out any game.
The big development is that Kristaps Porzingis is nowhere to be found on the injury report. The Boston big man made his long-awaited return Saturday night and led the way for the Celtics with 24 points in his first game back from a lengthy viral illness.
Porzingis is usually a fixture on the injury report, but Brown and Tatum are the only players on Boston's injury list ahead of Tuesday's game.
Celtics road trip
After Tuesday's tilt at TD Garden, the Celtics will hit the road for six games against the Western Conference. The trip will begin Friday and bring the team to Utah, Portland, Sacramento, Phoenix, San Antonio, and Memphis over an 11-day span.
Boston is currently 49-19 on the season and sit as the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. The Celtics are 7.5 games behind the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers and have a 5.5-game lead over the New York Knicks.
