After ending last week’s homestand on a down note with Saturday’s frustrating 100-95 loss to the San Antonio Spurs, the Boston Celtics kick off a four-game road trip on Monday against the Indiana Pacers.
Unfortunately for the Celtics, they’ll likely be without their best player in Indiana. On Sunday, Jaylen Brown was listed as doubtful for tonight’s game with low back spasms on the team’s injury report.
Josh Minott and Jayson Tatum have already been ruled out, while Sam Hauser is questionable with right hamstring tightness.
This is likely just a maintenance day for Brown, who has played 36 of Boston’s 38 games this season. He’s played 10 straight games for the Celtics and logged a season-high 43 minutes in Saturday’s loss, so Joe Mazzulla is probably just giving his star the night off.
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Even without Tatum and likely Brown, Boston is still favored against the lowly Pacers. Indiana remains without Tyrese Haliburton and has the worst record in the Eastern Conference this year at 8-31. The Celtics are also 2-0 without Brown this year.
This will be the third game this season between Boston and Indiana. Boston won the first two matchups by a combined 26 points in late December, but Brown played a big role in both of those victories with at least 30 points in each of them.
If Brown sits on Monday, look for Payton Pritchard and Derrick White to step up in his absence, especially if Hauser misses the contest as well. Brown’s next chance to play would be on Thursday against the Miami Heat.
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Featured image via Kirby Lee/Imagn Images
