Boston Celtics fans should have been happy following the team’s Tuesday night win over the Atlanta Hawks, but instead, they left TD Garden with cautious optimism.
In the first quarter of the Celtics game, Jaylen Brown suffered a right ankle sprain on a driving lay-up attempt. Following the injury, he did not return to the game.
Despite Brown not playing the majority of the game, the Celtics went on to beat the Hawks 107-98 behind 33 points from Jayson Tatum and 18 points apiece from Derrick White and Grant Williams.
Following the game, Celtics head coach Ime Udoka said Brown tried to get back in the game but ultimately decided against it, and that he is optimistic the injury won’t be serious.
The Celtics are going to hope that ends up being true, as he is a focal point to the success of the team. So far this season, Brown is averaging 23.2 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game, all of which eclipses his career averages of 16.1 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game.
Brown’s presence is all the more critical for Boston as it heads deeper into the season in a tight playoff battle in the Eastern Conference. Currently, the Celtics hold the final non-play-in spot in the East with a record of 37-27 sitting sixth in the conference.
But the Celtics have a lot of room to move up or down the conference standings with just a few wins or losses. The Celtics are currently only 5.0 games back of the first-place Miami Heat, but only 6.5 games ahead of the 10th seeded Atlanta Hawks.
