Boston Celtics wing Jaylen Brown is sidelined with a sinus infection on Tuesday in his team's New Year's Eve matchup with the Charlotte Hornets. However, there's good news about his immediate future. According to head coach Brad Stevens, the 23-year-old rising star is feeling “a lot better,” per Tom Westerholm in MassLive.com.
The Celtics enter Tuesday's contest having their five-game winning streak snapped by the defending champion Toronto Raptors at home on Saturday. They're in North Carolina today to face the 13-22 Hornets, who have lost five consecutive games, including the prior matchup with Boston last week.
Brown is coming off a string of solid performances that have continued to pushed his first All-Star bid in his fourth professional season. After the Celtics selected the California product with the third overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, Brown is finally coming into his own after previously playing as a role player alongside Isaiah Thomas or Kyrie Irving—two All-Star point guards. Now, Brown is averaging career-best 20.6 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game, shooting 51.8% from the field and 40.0% from 3-point range.
After practice on Tuesday, Stevens also provided insight into what Brown is doing differently this year.
“I think he’s improved his reads,” Stevens told reporters. “With the ball and driving and kicking and making the right play, and the more that that happens, the more the ball finds you again. He’s always been able to drive it through contact, but now he picks his spots well.”
The Celtics are trying to move up in the Eastern Conference standings and they're still behind the No. 1 Milwaukee Bucks by 5.5 games. Some are petitioning the NBA to select Brown alongside third-year forward Jayson Tatum and veteran point guard Kemba Walker as three All-Stars all deriving from the Celtics.
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