Getty Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics.
The Boston Celtics have run into a wall of injuries. Malcolm Brogdon missed their most recent game against the Denver Nuggets, Al Horford has been sitting out back-to-backs, and now Jaylen Brown is listed as questionable for Saturday’s game against the Detroit Pistons.
Brown seemed to knock knees with aaa player on the Nuggets on Friday, but he said that he’ll “be fine.”
“I’m alright,” Brown said. “I had the doctor take a look at my knee. I rolled my ankle last game too. So just a little bit banged up, but I’ll be fine.”
So far this season, Brown has been a crucial part of the Celtics’ gameplan on both ends of the floor. He’s appeared in all 12 games, playing 36.4 minutes per contest. The wing is averaging 25.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 3.3 assists on 47.9% shooting from the field and 35.7% shooting from three-point land.
He even took the time to joke around with his teammate after Boston’s win over Denver.
“He’s sneaky. He’s got that little Josue in him from Alvarado from the (New Orleans) Pelicans. He’s got a little sneak attack game, so it worked out for us for sure, but he needs to get his ass back on defense,” Brown said of Payton Pritchard.
Brogdon Injury Labeled as ‘Big Deal’
While Brown’s injury doesn’t seem to be anything to worry about, the same might not be true for Brogdon. The veteran guard has a history of dealing with injuries, and he’s going to miss his second-straight game on Saturday night.
During a segment on NBC Sports Boston, John Tomase was asked about the significance of the injury, and he said that it’s a “big deal.”
“If I have to pick one, I’m going to say big deal,” Tomase said. “Because this was the fear all along. He’s been hurt a lot in his career. And, I look at him kind of similarly to Rob Williams, where you say, ‘can you really count on him to make it through four postseason series?’ Phil, I’m not sure you can, and we’re already getting a little evidence of that right now.”
Brogdon has played great for the Celtics so far this year. Through 11 games with the Celtics, he’s averaged 13.7 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 3.5 assists on 47.7% shooting from the field and 36.8% shooting from distance.
Celtics Big Man’s Injury Update
Meanwhile, big man Robert Williams has yet to play in a game this season. He had arthroscopic knee surgery and was slated to miss roughly 8-12 weeks (which was announced about seven weeks ago).
That being said, he recently revealed that he’s been slowly working toward a return, and the rehab process is going well.
“They just try to hold me [back from] being a little too explosive sometimes, take my time with it. But pick and rolls, running the court, really doing a lot,” Williams said via Jay King of The Athletic. He also noted that he’s been “stepping it up” in workouts.
With Williams still out, Brogdon out in the short term, and the questions surrounding Brown’s knee, the Celtics will need to depend on their depth for the immediate future.