The Boston Celtics will be missing a key member of their roster for Sunday’s game against the Miami Heat, with Jaylen Brown suffering from a sprained right ankle.
Brown’s absence for the third straight game eliminated a player who played a central role in the Celtics’ offense. He is averaging 24.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.2 steals per game this season.
This hole in the Celtics’ roster comes at a crucial time as they face the Heat for the sixth seed in the upcoming NBA playoffs. Entering Sunday’s game, the Heat have a one-game advantage over the Celtics with five games remaining on both teams’ regular-season schedules.
The reason seeding is so important is because the seventh through tenth seeds in both conferences would have to participate in a play-in tournament that could quickly end a team’s season.
The upcoming game on Sunday is the first of two straight games in Boston between the two teams, with the latter contest taking place on Tuesday night.
