Jaylen Brown OUT Thursday vs. Nets with groin injury

The Boston Celtics will enter the second night of a back-to-back set Thursday when they face the Brooklyn Nets. This is a rematch of the first-round playoff series from a year ago, where the Celtics swept the Nets 4-0. One of the key players in that series for Boston was Jaylen Brown. Unfortunately, he’ll be out for tonight’s game with a groin injury.

Jaylen Brown injury updates

Brown was added to the report this morning with the groin injury and was eventually ruled out. He hasn’t popped up on the injury report before with this issue, but interim head coach Joe Mazzulla said Brown could miss a week or two with the injury. The Celtics have enough depth to make up for his absence but this a bit of an unexpected injury.

Fantasy basketball impact

With Brown out, Jayson Tatum becomes Boston’s top scoring option. Malcolm Brogdon appears to be in line for more playing time, although Marcus Smart does come back for the Celtics. We’ll see how Boston lines up but there’s a big chunk of minutes and shots to divide up with Brown out.

Betting impact

The Celtics opened as 3-point favorites and have now become 1-point underdogs with Brown out. Boston is still a good bet here because the Nets are missing Kevin Durant. Even on some extra rest, Brooklyn will struggle without Durant’s consistent offense. The Celtics might have gained some value on the betting front even with Brown out.