Bucks-Celtics: Jaylen Brown Status Upgraded For Eastern Conference Clash

Jeremy Hanna | Nov 9, 2024

Oct 28, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown (7) drives to the basket defended by Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) during the second half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images / Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images

The Milwaukee Bucks are looking to bounce back from a rough start. However, in order to get back on track, they'll have to face one of the toughest teams in the NBA: the Boston Celtics.

And if the injury report is to be believed, they just got a whole lot tougher.

The Celtics announced on social media that star forward Jaylen Brown, who has been suffering from a left hip flexor strain, has been upgraded from Doubtful to Questionable.

Injury Report for tomorrow at Milwaukee:

Jaylen Brown (left hip flexor strain) - QUESTIONABLE
Luke Kornet (right hamstring tightness) - QUESTIONABLE
Kristaps Porzingis (left posterior tibialis tendon surgery rehabilitation) - OUT
Jaden Springer (left knee tendinopathy) -…

— Boston Celtics (@celtics) November 9, 2024

This is certainly exciting for Boston since they've been missing the three-time NBA All-Star the last few games. That being said, it's likely scary news for the Bucks.

In the games he has played this season, Brown has averaged 25.7 points, 7.2 total rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.5 steals per game. This is even better than his last season with the Celtics, where he averaged 23 points, 5.5 total rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.2 steals per game, and they wound up winning the NBA Finals.

Milwaukee is currently sitting with a 2-7 record, the second worst in the Eastern Conference. This is far off from where a team that has Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard on it.

This year, Antetokounmpo has averaged 30.1 points, 12.8 total rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 0.8 blocks. Meanwhile, Lillard has averaged 27.3 points, 6.7 assists, 4.7 total rebounds, and 0.8 steals.

On average, this duo is scoring about 57 points per game. Unfortunately, the rest of the roster can't seem to keep up, with the next most supportive player being center Bobby Portis, who is averaging 12.2 points per game along with 8.3 total rebounds.

Meanwhile, the Celtics not only have Brown potentially returning, but they have early MVP candidate Jayson Tatum, Derrick White, Jrue Holiday, and Payton Pritchard, all of whom are averaging in the double digits.

The Celtics starting five is dominating right now, offensively and defensively. On average, they are scoring an average of 96.8 points per game. On the other side, the Bucks are averaging 81.3 points per game.

Milwaukee head coach Doc Rivers remains confident that the team can still make the playoffs. If they're going to do it, it's clear that some changes need to be made.

The Bucks are looking to gain some momentum after a bad start to the 2024 NBA season. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like it will be against the Celtics.

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