Good news for the Boston Celtics: All-Star wing Jaylen Brown is expected to return to the lineup in time for a pivotal showdown with the Miami Heat on Sunday.
Brown is nursing a sore right ankle, which will likely keep him out of Friday's game vs. the Chicago Bulls.
“Jaylen looks like he’s close but not quite ready yet,” said Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge, via the Boston Globe. “We’re hoping he’ll be ready to play Sunday.”
The Celtics (35-31) are currently tied with Miami (35-31) for the no. 6 and no. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference, meaning Sunday's contest could play a major role in determining which squad ends up the play-in tournament.
Brown re-aggravated his ankle after accidentally colliding with his teammate Jayson Tatum in Boston's game against the Portland Trail Blazers last Sunday. Brown missed the Celtics' 36-point win over the Orlando Magic on Wednesday.
All things considered, Ainge is thankful that the star's injury wasn't more severe.
“It can always be worse when you roll your ankles,” he said. “I’ve had that happen to me many times. They all hurt, and some of them you can go back in the game and some of them take three or four days and some take three weeks. So you never know for sure what’s going to happen with those.”
Brown has developed into one of the best two-way players in the NBA in 2020-21. The 24-year old is averaging 24.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.2 steals per game in 58 starts, and shooting a career-best 39.7 percent on 7.1 3-point attempts per game.
Follow Us
Subscribe