Abby Chin and Perk take on The Athletic’s Jay King and Boston Sports Journal’s John Karalis in the latest edition of Celtics Census
The Boston Celtics are going to be without three of their top seven players against the Golden State Warriors. However, they will be adding a new face to the fray as well.
According to Celtics coach Brad Stevens, Jaylen Brown (illness) will be out against the Warriors. The illness is not COVID-related.
Brown scored 40 points against the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night while shooting 17-of-20 from the field. The C's will certainly miss his scoring presence during the game.
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In addition to Brown, Evan Fournier (health and safety protocols) and Robert Williams (left knee) are out for Saturday's game. The good news is that they could return in the not-so-distant future.
Per Stevens, Williams is uncertain for Monday's game against the Chicago Bulls, but he will be back soon. As for Fournier, he's out of quarantine but won't return until Thursday until the earliest. That means that Fournier will miss at least the next two games for the team.
With these three players out, Kemba Walker, Jayson Tatum, and Marcus Smart will have to career a bulk of the scoring load. Meanwhile, Tristan Thompson will step into a bigger role as the primary big man with Williams sidelined.
Despite these absences, the C's did get some good news on Saturday. The newly-signed Jabari Parker will be available to play for the team. Parker, 26, has averaged 14.8 points per game during his career and could emerge as a key bench scorer with Brown out.
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It will be interesting to see what he can do during his first game as a member of the Celtics. But if he can at least show some scoring touch, he could fill a big need off the bench.
