Brown misses Lakers game
Could return tonight vs. Thunder
Jaylen Brown is close to a return from a hamstring strain, and made it known to the coaching and medical staff that he wanted to play against the Lakers Friday night.
Instead, Ime Udoka and the Celtics medical staff decided to hold the young star out for at least one more game. The Celtics coach added that there remains a possibility that Brown could return Saturday night against Oklahoma City.
“He’s close, he’s raring to play,” said Udoka. “We’re going to hold him back a little bit, myself and the medical staff. He really wanted to play tonight — let alone back home in Atlanta — but we feel he needs a little more time. He’s ramped it up over the last week or so. He’s not quite ready but he’ll be back soon.”
Asked about what is holding Brown back, the coach said, “Just the build-up in his workload. Have him shooting, playing a little bit, contact. We felt he needed another session or two.”
The Celtics continue to play without some of their most important players. Though Dennis Schroder was cleared to play against his former Lakers team after suffering a sprained ankle, Rob Williams missed his second straight game due to left knee soreness.
“Lack of continuity is always going to affect some of that,” Udoka said of delays in implementing his system due to injuries. “But it’s no excuse for our guys. We’ve won games without (Brown), and lost some close games without him. We go with what we have out on the court. Guys have stepped up. When we get everyone back whole we’ll see who we are as a unit and we’ll have some time to deal there. But we looked at it today and we’ve had our whole lineup for five out of 15 games. Still, the last eight games we’ve been one of the top defenses, and that’s without Jaylen. We go out and do what we do, and the other guys have to step up.”
Don’t be surprised to see Brown make his return Saturday night, though.
“We’ll see. He got looked at ( Thursday), got in some work, do some stuff on the court tonight and maybe (Saturday) — doesn’t mean he’s out,” said Udoka.
Celtics/lakers rivalry lives on
Brad Stevens made sure to brief Udoka on the meaning a Celtics/ Lakers game, and its impact on the Garden.
“Buckle up. The city is clamoring for this matchup all the time,” Udoka said of Stevens’ message. “It’s a historical one of years past and he just said enjoy it for the first time you are going through it.
“It’s fun, myself and some of the staff have talked about it,” he said. “Obviously, Brad has caught me up to speed on the first time he went through it but you see it from afar growing up for years and to be a part of it now, you can feel buzz around the city and our organization with the players as well. We all know what it means and for me, the first time going through it, it will be different when we step out there but there are a lot of firsts this year you can experience on the fly. My thing is not to get too high on the game or a rivalry. It’s more so trying to get wins.”
Defense a saving grace
The Celtics had risen to 11th in the league in defensive rating heading into the Lakers game, and were in the top four in the last 10 games. Something must be working.
“It’s a constant reminder to us that we can rely on that every night,” said Udoka. “Regardless of the offensive numbers it gives us a chance every night. We’re ahead of where we are offensively with guys in and out, but that’s what we’re hanging our hat on right now. Early in the season we were looking at it as an extension of training camp because of the guys being out, and they’ve taken it to heart the last eight, nine games.”