Jaylen Brown injury update: Celtics star to miss ‘probably a week or two’ with right adductor strain

Jaylen Brown will miss Thursday’s game between the Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets with a right adductor strain. Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla estimated that Brown would be out for “probably a week or two,” but said the team still needed time to figure out how long Brown would sit. “I’m not sure what the timeline is,” Mazzulla said. “I know he tried to give it a go today and wasn’t able to do it. We’ll know more the next couple days, see how he responds.”

Brown had missed only two games prior to Thursday and is well on his way to his second All-Star berth. Brown is averaging career-highs in both points (27.2) and rebounds (7.1) per game for a Celtics team that has the best record in the NBA at 30-12.

If ever there was a time for Boston to be without Brown, it would be now. The Nets are without Kevin Durant for Thursday’s tilt, and the majority of Boston’s next five games after that are against teams below .500. One of those games is a Finals rematch with the Warriors, but the other four (two against the Hornets, one against the Raptors and another against the Magic) should all see Boston comfortably favored.

Still, Boston’s offense relies on having two All-Star wings to do the bulk of the scoring. Now Jayson Tatum’s job will be even more difficult as he attempts to carry the load on his own while Brown recovers.