Jaylen Brown Not Expected To Play Thursday, But Celtics Don't Think He'll Be Sidelined For Very Long
BOSTON (CBS) -- It did not look good for Jaylen Brown or the Celtics when Boston's swingman suffered a nasty ankle injury early in Tuesday night's win over the Atlanta Hawks. But the Celtics continue to sound somewhat confident that this won't be a long-term issue for Brown.
Brown did not practice on Wednesday and it's unlikely he'll play Thursday night when the Celtics host the Memphis Grizzlies. Which is a shame, because the C's are going to need all hands on deck against Ja Morant and company.
But as he said Tuesday night after Brown was forced to leave Boston's comeback win, head coach Ime Udoka does not expect this injury to sideline Brown for very long.
Brown was experiencing more pain and swelling Wednesday than he was Tuesday night, which isn't all that out of the ordinary. But he's only considered day-to-day, which is a huge for a Celtics team that has been relying heavily on an eight-man rotation as of late.
"He tried to get back in the game last night, still had the adrenaline pumping and it doesn't swell up as much, but overnight it did and it has some pain. But like I said, nothing long-term," Udoka said after Wednesday's practice. "I'm not sure of the severity or the grade, but it didn't look like anything major that he'll be out for weeks."
Brown went down in a heap after he rolled his ankle just three minutes into the game. He stepped on De'Andre Hunter's foot as he drove to the hoop, and fell awkwardly to the floor. Brown was down for a few moments, but eventually walked off on his own power, albeit with a noticeable limp. He was ruled out for the rest of the contest a few minutes later, despite wanting to try to tough it out.
Losing Brown, who is averaging 23.2 points in his 50 games, would obviously be a big blow to the Celtics. Boston immediately fell into a funk after he went left Tuesday, and fell behind by 17 points in the first half against the Hawks.
But the C's showed some great resilience thanks to starters Jayson Tatum and Marcus Smart, along with Derrick White and Grant Williams off the bench. After trailing 65-51 at the half, the Celtics started the second half with a 51-23 run, outscoring the Hawks 31-13 in the third quarter, to notch a 107-98 victory. Tatum led all scorers with 33 points, while White and Williams both scored 18 off the bench.
While the Celtics were able to win despite Brown's exit on Tuesday night, losing one of their two best players wouldn't bode well down the stretch. Luckily for Boston, which is hanging on to the six-seed in the Eastern Conference, it doesn't sound like Brown will be sidelined for very long.
