The Boston Celtics are going to have to survive without Jaylen Brown for at least one more game.
The fifth-year wing missed his first game of the season Friday night in Boston's narrow win over the Los Angeles Clippers. Ahead of the team's Sunday afternoon clash with the Phoenix Suns, Brown has once again been ruled out with a sore left knee.
The Celtics confirmed the news that Brown wouldn't play while Marcus Smart (calf) and Romeo Langford (wrist) remain absent.
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SIGN UP HERE Brown is averaging 26.4 points per game, second only to Jayson Tatum on the season, so the C's will once again need their bench to step up and provide a scoring punch as they did against the Clippers.
Though Brown's absence will hurt, the C's did get some good news. Daniel Theis, who played just nine minutes against the Clippers before leaving with knee soreness, was not listed on the team's final injury report. So, he should be ready to go against the Suns.
With Brown out last game, the Celtics opted to start Grant Williams in his place and effectively ran a three-big lineup with Theis and Tristan Thompson joining Tatum and Kemba Walker in the starting lineup. The lineup had minimal success, so Brad Stevens may shake it up against Phoenix.
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After his strong defensive performance against the Clippers, Semi Ojeleye could get a chance to move into the starting unit. Or if the team wants an extra offensive punch, Payton Pritchard or Carsen Edwards, who is coming off a career-high 30 minutes against the Clips, could get the call. The latter options would require the Celtics to play small, but they had success doing that on Friday night.
We'll know soon enough what the C's will do with their lineup with Brown out another game. Coverage of Celtics-Suns starts at 1:30 p.m. ET with Celtics Pregame Live and tip-off at 2 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Boston.