The Boston Celtics will meet with the Los Angeles Lakers tonight for a big-time matchup on Amazon Prime Video. Both teams are coming off a Thursday night win, meaning they’re both on the second leg of a back-to-back. Jaylen Brown missed last night’s game against the Washington Wizards due to illness. Here’s the latest info regarding his status for tonight’s game.
Will Jaylen Brown Play Against The Lakers?
Jaylen Brown is having a career-best season in terms of offensive production. He’s averaging a whopping 29 points per game on 49.9% shooting from the field while dishing out a career-high 4.8 assists. Despite playing without superstar Jayson Tatum, Brown has the Celtics currently in 5th place in the wide-open Eastern Conference. He’s keeping them relevant.
Brown was ruled out of last night’s game before tip-off with a non-COVID illness. This was the first game he’s missed all season long, but the Celtics handled their business anyway, beating the Wizards by an astonishing 45 points.
Now the question shifts to whether or not Brown will suit up tonight in a prime-time matchup against LeBron James and the Lakers.
Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla was asked in last night’s media availability about Brown’s status heading into tonight’s game, and he kept his answer understandably vague.
“I’m not a doctor,” said Mazzulla. “Sorry, I have no idea.”
When presented with “non-COVID illness” as the reason for a player being sidelined, it’s difficult to know how serious the illness actually is. It’s reasonable to assume this could’ve been a way to buy Brown some much-needed rest against a non-competitive Wizards team ahead of a much bigger nationally televised game against the Lakers.
As of the NBA’s latest injury report at 10:30 a.m. ET, the Celtics have not submitted their team report. Per NBA rules, the Celtics are not required to file their initial report until 1:00 p.m. local time on the second day of a back-to-back. So for now, Brown remains questionable.
Lakers vs. Celtics Preview
As far as regular-season games go, this is an important one for both the Lakers and Celtics. With a 16-5 record to start the year, the Lakers have been dominant.
However, in a competitive Western Conference, every game carries an elevated level of significance as multiple teams vie for home-court advantage in the playoffs.
For the Celtics, they’re trying to prove they can remain competitive while Tatum recovers from his Achilles injury.
It’s one thing to beat up on bad teams like the Wizards; it’s another to take down their legendary rivals and one of the league’s top teams: the Lakers.
