Jaylen Brown (neck) questionable against Miami

Nov 29, 2022 - 10:05 PM

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The Boston Celtics are riding the wave of victory heading into two home games in a row against the Miami Heat. While the last two opponents have been underwhelming to the point of being able to rest one of the Jays in each contest, the Heat may present more of a challenge depending on their own injury report. On that note, Jaylen Brown (neck) is listed as questionable for the first leg of this home series against the Heat.

Jaylen Brown missed last night’s thrashing of the depleted Charlotte Hornets in which the Celtics put up 140 points as Jayson Tatum posted 30+ points while Marcus Smart had a career-high in assists. In Brown’s last game against the Washington Wizards, he led the team with over 30 points as Boston cruised to victory.

The Miami Heat should never feel like a “oh yeah, that’s baby food” matchup as long as Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo are on the roster, but Jimmy Butler has been ruled “unlikely” to play on Wednesday with hopes of returning for Friday’s Heat-Celtics matchup. That’s a significant boost for a Celtics team that’s already at the top of the league in a number of categories and that possesses the best offense in league history.

The last time the Celtics met the Heat, Boston won without much strain. At 17-4 with losses only coming to Central Division opponents, they’ll be looking to keep the momentum going against a potentially wounded Miami team.

I am a little concerned about Jaylen Brown’s neck issue even though he’s listed as questionable instead of out. It initially seemed like he was getting the second night of a back-to-back out to rest after Jayson Tatum got rest for his “ankle injury,” so the fact that it’s persisting to a second straight injury report raises my eyebrow just a little. It’s probably not a big issue, though. Al Horford is clear to return after resting last night against the Hornets as well. Danilo Gallinari remains out, and Robert Williams is still apparently on track to a return by Christmas.

The Celtics take on the Heat tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBATV.