It’s uncertain whether Boston forward Jaylen Brown will play when the Celtics host the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night.
Brown has missed the Celtics’ last two games due to a hip flexor strain. After Monday’s 123-93 win over Atlanta, Boston head coach Joe Mazzulla said Brown is considered “day to day.”
This season, Brown is averaging 25.7 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. He has missed 14 games since the start of the 2023-24 season, but Boston has won all 14 games without him.
In Brown’s absence, Jayson Tatum stepped up, leading the team with 28 points against the Hawks, including 26 in the first half. Tatum has been the top scorer in six of Boston’s eight games so far.
“He found advantages because he was creating space,” Mazzulla said. “He got a couple in transition. He drove. He had a good balance of shooting threes and driving in the first half, and then they started to hit, and then he was just making plays. He had five assists in the third quarter. Just a well-rounded game by him.”
On the other hand, Stephen Curry returned to the Golden State lineup in Monday’s 125-112 victory over Washington after missing three games with an ankle injury. Curry scored 24 points and added six assists in the win, which extended the Warriors’ winning streak to four games.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr mentioned that Curry had a 24-minute limit for the game against Washington.
“He looked like he was moving really well,” Kerr said. “He looked strong. Came out and played a great game in his 24 minutes. Assuming he feels good (Tuesday), I don’t anticipate a big minutes restriction or anything like that for Boston.”
The Warriors have been impressive, winning six out of their first seven games, which is their best start since 2021-22 when they began with 11 wins in the first 12 games. Monday’s win improved Golden State’s road record to 4-0.
“We love the start,” Kerr said. “To go 6-1, I think that exceeds our expectations, but we also know that our schedule has been kind to us. We’ve played some teams that have been injured, we’ve played some young teams.
It’s about to get a lot harder. We play basically the three best teams in the league the rest of this week (Boston, Cleveland and Oklahoma City). I like our progress, but we have a lot of work ahead.”
“We have to tighten up our offensive execution. We took care of the ball (against the Wizards), but it didn’t feel like a clean game for us execution-wise, so we have to get better in that area and the last couple games we haven’t forced many turnovers. I don’t think we’ve been as disruptive as we were the first five games, so hopefully a little bit of improvement at both ends.”
Wednesday’s game will also mark a reunion between Tatum and Kerr, who had benched Tatum for several games during the Paris Olympics.
“We’re playing against Steph Curry, somebody that I’m close with,” Tatum said. “And obviously, I’m close with Draymond Green. I know this is a Finals matchup from a few years ago. From that standpoint, getting to play against those guys, we’ve had a lot of battles over the last couple years. So, sure, it’ll be fun.”
