Celtics guard/forward Jaylen Brown is not expected to miss significant time with an ankle sprain suffered in the first quarter against the Hawks, as relayed by Souichi Terada of MassLive.com.
Brown played just three minutes of the Celtics’ win Tuesday before suffering the injury. He never returned.
Per Celtics coach Ime Udoka, Brown missed Wednesday’s practice and is unlikely to play vs. the Grizzlies on Thursday. Based on that, it appears Brown could be considered day-to-day.
“Udoka added Brown has some added swelling and pain for his right ankle, but the injury still shouldn’t be anything long-term,” Terada wrote. “That’s a sign of relief for the C’s as they’ll need Brown for the final 18 games of the season amid a playoff push.”
Udoka added that the Celtics intend to be cautious, while admitting the tight Eastern Conference race for playoff positioning brings a sense of urgency.
“We’re going to be smart at this point of the season regardless,” Udoka said. “It’s a matter of swelling and pain tolerance at some point. The fact that it’s not Grade 2, 3 tear or whatever where ligaments have been torn obviously bodes well for him.
“It’s a little bit different than a muscular injury where you have to kind of take your time on that. It’s really about pain tolerance and getting the swelling out and flexibility back in.”
Brown, 25, is 6-foot-6 and averaging 23.2 points and 6.2 rebounds in 50 appearances. He is doing it all while shooting 46 percent from the floor.
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