Celtics Injury Report: Joe Mazzulla Reveals Timeline for Jaylen Brown Return

The three-time All-Star has missed Boston's last two games, and will miss his third in a row Wednesday.

May 23, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla talks with guard Jaylen Brown (7) from the sideline as they take on the Indiana Pacers during game two of the eastern conference finals for the 2024 NBA playoffs at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images / David Butler II-Imagn Images

Three-time Boston Celtics All-Star small forward Jaylen Brown has missed his club's last three games with a hip strain.

Speaking before Boston's ongoing matchup against the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday, third-year Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla offered a new insight into the recovery timeline for the 2024 Finals MVP.

Mazzulla suggested that Brown should be considered day-to-day moving forward, according to ESPN's Tim Bontemps.

Through his first six healthy contests, the 6-foot-6 UC Berkeley product is averaging 25.7 points on .400/.267/.809 shooting splits, 7.2 boards, 3.8 dimes, 1.5 steals and 0.5 blocks a night.

Without Brown (and starting center Kristaps Porzingis, who's on the shelf for at least the first few months of the 2024-25 regular season), Boston has gone 2-0. The reigning champs have won their last two bouts by an average of 20 points. This 7-1 Celtics squad is a deep, well-oiled machine.

With Brown sidelined, Boston has opted to employ a twin towers big man tandem, adding deep-bench reserve center Neemias Queta alongside sixth man Al Horford in the frontcourt, while moving 6-foot-8 All-NBA superstar Jayson Tatum to Brown's small forward spot.

Boston has emerged as the class of the Eastern Conference for the second straight season, and though the team lacks the Cleveland Cavaliers' unblemished 8-0 record (as of this writing), the Celtics and Cleveland are the only two clubs in the East with records above .500.

Tatum has been playing better than ever. The 26-year-old is averaging a career-high 30.0 points on .481/.355/.779 shooting splits, plus 7.4 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.9 steals and 0.5 blocks a night, through his eight bouts with Boston. Brown, meanwhile, has stepped up, too. Should his hip not be a long-term health impediment, it seems likely the two-way standout could earn his second-ever All-NBA honor, as well as a fourth All-Star appearance.

Tatum has probably done enough to make the Hall of Fame right now, if everything ended today. Brown may be a borderline case, as the second-best player on a title team (albeit the one who was honored as Finals MVP), but given that he's just 28, it seems likely he'll keep right on accruing the kinds of accolades needed to help reach Springfield with ease, and see his No. 7 jersey hung in the rafters of TD Garden one day, presumably right next to Tatum's.

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