The Boston Celtics have been one of the biggest surprises in the NBA. Despite everyone expecting them to stink without Jayson Tatum in the lineup, they sit third in the Eastern Conference standings. Jaylen Brown has had to turn into the top offensive option.
Brown has played the best basketball of his career. Brown has the second-highest offensive rating of his career. The Celtics are only at the top of the East standings because of his growth as a player and because of his availability. He’s hardly missed any action this season.
Ahead of a matchup against the Pacers, Brown was listed as questionable on the injury report due to an illness. The Celtics have now given some good news on his availability for the game.
GettyBoston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown warms up. (Photo by Brian Fluharty/Getty Images)
Jaylen Brown is Available for the Game vs. Pacers
Brown is good to go, as he is listed as available for the game. That gives Boston its best player for a game against one of the worst teams in the NBA. He will be the best player on the floor for both teams, as the Pacers still don’t have Tyrese Haliburton available for any games.
With the Celtics still in the hunt for home-court advantage, they need to win games like this. Indiana has suffered some bad losses in the last couple of games, so they are desperate to get a win. They are still one of the most injured teams in the league.
Brown should be able to do whatever he wants against the Pacers on both offense and defense. The Pacers have the worst offense in the league. Without Haliburton driving the team, they don’t have enough ball movement to create the open shots they were getting a year ago.
Indiana will also be without backup point guard T.J. McConnell, who will miss the game with a knee injury. That will make it even harder for the Pacers to generate offense, especially from guys off the bench.
GettyBoston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown holds the ball. (Photo by Brian Fluharty/Getty Images)
The Celtics Could Make a Big Move to Improve Playoff Chances
While the Celtics haven’t had issues beating the bad teams on their schedule, they could still make a big move to improve their chances of making a run in the playoffs. They have some assets to make a big trade at the trade deadline if they want to.
There’s a bigger chance that Brad Stevens decides not to make any moves that would end up putting them into the second apron of the luxury tax. It’s more likely that Stevens might try to go the other way and maybe shed some salary at the deadline.
That would get them under the luxury tax, which would help better position them to make a run in the future. Until Jayson Tatum comes back at full strength, it will be hard for Stevens to evaluate the rest of the roster around Tatum and Brown.
Keeping Brown healthy will be an important piece, as well.
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