Jaylen Brown will miss his third straight game when the Boston Celtics face the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday. He is dealing with a left hip flexor strain. Joe Mazzulla’s team is already without Kristaps Porzingis, who is recovering from offseason surgery.
As such, Boston will be without two of its top three players when the Warriors come to town. Nevertheless, Celtics fans will be more concerned with Brown’s injury and whether it could derail the early months of his season.
Fortunately for the fan base, Mazzulla recently played down the severity of Brown’s ailment. His comments came during an appearance on the “Zolak & Bertrand” show for 98.5 The Sports Hub.
“He’s doing well,” Mazzulla added of Brown. “It’s a strain, and he’s working really hard in treatment every day and just kind of working to get back at it. So, not concerned, and I don’t think he is either.”
Last season, Brown was crowned as the Eastern Conference Finals MVP and the NBA Finals MVP. His elite scoring ability helped spearhead the Celtics offense, especially when they needed to pressure the rim or attack space in the mid-range.
However, Brown’s role has been altered this season. He’s no longer tasked with leading Boston’s offense during the opening quarter. That has fallen onto Jayson Tatum’s shoulders, with the St. Louis native playing all 12 minutes of the opening period in six of Boston’s seven games.
“It’s something new, because usually I’m the first-quarter guy,” Brown told the Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach. “I’m the one that’s setting the tone and getting off to a hot start. But I think (coach Mazzulla) wants to switch it up a little bit. I guess it’s cool. I can do whatever our team needs to be done.”
Regardless of what Brown’s role is, he’s still one of the most important players on the Celtics. Without him in the rotation, Boston will struggle to overcome a Warriors team that has been impressing over the season’s opening weeks. Nevertheless, it’s better to ensure Brown is fully healthy than risk his long-term fitness for a single game in early November.
The Celtics have bigger fish to fry than a regular-season win. They’re aiming to repeat their championship success, and to do that, they must ensure everyone is healthy for the playoffs. Until then, it doesn’t matter who is in or out of the rotation as long as they stick to the game plan and improve as a unit.
