Will Jaylen Brown Play? Full Celtics vs Timberwolves Injury Report Revealed

Matt Levine | Jan 2, 2025

Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images

The Boston Celtics are gearing up for a matchup with the Minnesota Timberwolves later on today. However, Boston could enter this contest without the services of one of their star players.

Boston originally listed forward Jaylen Brown as questionable for this contest as he deals with a right shoulder strain. The star will be out for this game.

Injury Report update:

Jaylen Brown (right shoulder strain) - OUT
Kristaps Porzingis (left ankle sprain) - OUT https://t.co/WSX6MIYJ8p

— Boston Celtics (@celtics) January 2, 2025

Brown only played in 25 minutes of game action in the Celtics last game against the Toronto Raptors.

It was an extremely poor shooting night for him as he went 6-for-13 from the field and 0-for-2 from beyond the 3-point line. The Celtics were able to overcome his struggles and grabbed a massive blowout win over Toronto.

On the year, Brown is averaging 24.4 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 1.3 steals per game. Brown is also shooting 33.2 percent from distance on the season.

Overall, it has been a little bit of a struggle for the Celtics in recent games. While they did blow out the Raptors, Boston has gone 3-4 over their past seven games.

This led to Brown calling out his teammates for their lack of defensive identity at times this season. Boston has normally prided themselves on their defense but they have seen a bit relaxed on that end of the floor this year.

“We’ve had some great moments this season and maybe some comfort has slipped in,” Brown said. “Offensively, we’re fine. I just think defensively we’ve got to find ways to get more stops and be more consistent protecting the basket, helping each other, communicating. We just didn’t emphasize that enough.”

“We’ve got to get back to emphasizing the defensive side of the ball,” Brown said. “It’s kind of slipped over the last few games, our intensity. Teams are pressuring us and being physical with us. We’ve got to do the same stuff back to them. We did some good stuff in spots, but just not enough.”

Things seemed to click into place against the Raptors but now the Celtics get a tougher test in the Timberwolves. With guard Anthony Edwards, Boston will need to make sure that they limit the damage from other players.

Minnesota holds a record of 17-15 for the year, currently sitting in eighth place within the Western Conference standings. As for the Celtics, they are 24-9 and are in second place within the Eastern Conference standings.

More Celtics: Rising Boston Forward Takes Major Career Step