Jaylen

Brown

After missing the first night of the Celtics’ back-to-back, Brown was back in the lineup for this game. The last game he played in was his 42-point performance against the Knicks, and he picked up right where he left off. This was his 12th time scoring at least 30 points this season, and he has at least 30 in five of his last six appearances. That was enough in this one for Boston to win its fourth straight game, which they’ll look to continue in Toronto on Sunday.

Brown returns to the Celtics’ starting lineup after missing Thursday’s win over the Wizards with an illness. He’s averaging career-bests in points (29.0) and assists (4.8) per game, and has been Boston’s best player in the absence of Jayson Tatum (Achilles). With Brown back in the lineup, the Celtics will have a better chance of securing a fourth consecutive win.

This will be Brown’s first missed game of the season, and has been anticipated over the last couple of days. His absence will mean more shots from Payton Pritchard and Derrick White but also increased usage for guys like Anfernee Simons, Josh Minott, and Sam Hauser.

Brown is expected to miss a game for the first time this season, which opens up a ton of minutes and shots. Anfernee Simons, Josh Minott, Sam Hauser and Hugo Gonzalez are all candidates to start in place of Brown, though all four should see a boost in minutes.

One game removed from recording his first triple-double of the season, Brown dropped a season-high 42 points on Tuesday. Boston trailed by as much as 14 during the first quarter but, thanks in part to Brown, would lead by as many as 21 points before holding on for the win. Brown’s eight-cat fantasy value has aligned with his Yahoo! ADP, as he’s providing third-round value. The lone issue on Tuesday was the turnover count: Brown committed four, but the overall production compensated for it.

Brown wasn’t as impactful from a scoring standpoint on the second night of a back-to-back following a 41-point outburst during Saturday’s narrow loss to the Timberwolves, but he still found a way to make an all-around impact in this one. He deferred to a red-hot Payton Pritchard throughout the night and recorded the fourth triple-double of his career by stepping up as a rebounder and facilitator. He also got to the free throw line for a whopping 16 attempts. He’s delivered second-round value from a fantasy standpoint over the past three games, averaging 31 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.7 steals and one block during that span.

Brown won the battle but lost the war. He was able to outscore Anthony Edwards 41-39, but the Celtics ended up coming up short on the scoreboard. Brown matched his season high for scoring, which allowed him to exceed 30 points for a third straight game. He also set a new career high for steals. This was arguably Brown’s best game of the season, and he’ll look to stay hot against the Cavaliers on Sunday, which will be the second night of a back-to-back.

Brown hasn’t missed a game all season and that streak will continue Saturday. The 29-year-old small forward is set to play after being listed as questionable with a back injury. Brown is coming off a 33-point performance in Wednesday’s win over the Pistons.

Brown has yet to miss a game this season, but he could be sidelined against Minnesota. In that scenario, Sam Hauser or Josh Minott would likely fill the void in the starting lineup. Minott would be the preferred option for fantasy managers, but Hauser will be able to supply plenty of three-pointers.

Brown recorded a robust stat line in the Celtics’ three-point victory, but the efficiency was lacking for managers who require more in that regard. In addition to the low field-goal percentage, the Celtics wing was responsible for a game-high six turnovers. That category is why Brown is ranked just outside the top-75 in nine-cat formats, as he’s averaging 3.8 turnovers per game. With Jayson Tatum (Achilles) out and the Celtics’ rotation being far more dependent upon Brown, the turnovers aren’t a surprise. As long as he does the other things well, as was the case on Wednesday, there shouldn’t be too much concern over the occasional inefficient night.