The Celtics will be without Jaylen Brown for at least the first two games of their six-game road trip according to a team release.
Brown was officially diagnosed with a bone bruise with posterior impingement in his right knee according to the team. He had already been ruled out for Friday’s game against the Jazz for Boston and now will miss Sunday’s matchup against the Portland Trail Blazers. The All-Star forward is set to be re-evaluated Monday, according to the team.
Brown is averaging 22.8 points, 6.1 rebounds and 4.7 assists this season while appearing in 56 games for the 50-19 Celtics.
Boston is safely entrenched in second place in the Eastern Conference, holding a seven-game lead over the Knicks in the standings with just 13 regular season games remaining. With the Cavaliers likely out of reach (six games ahead) in the race for the top seed, the Celtics will feel no sense of urgency to get Brown back in the lineup before he’s fully healthy.
Individually, Brown does have some incentive to return if wants to remain eligible for an All-NBA team. The 6-foot-7 forward will need to appear in 65 games in order to be eligible for any end-of-season awards. Brown has made one All-NBA team in his career, being voted onto the second All-NBA team back in the 2022-23 season.
The next update on Brown’s status will come on Monday ahead of the team’s matchup against the Sacramento Kings.
