Jaylen Brown out Friday vs. Jazz

The Celtics will start their five-game west coast road trip without Jaylen Brown. The team officially ruled him out on Thursday for the front end of a back-to-back in Utah.

Since returning from an eight-game absence, Brown has slowly been ramping up his activity. Over the last five games where he’s seen his minutes restriction rise from 27 to 32, he’s averaging 14.6 points on 39.4% shooting, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.8 assists. At times, his mobility on the floor seems limited and without the athletic burst he’s known for.

It’s unclear whether or not Brown suffered a setback in Wednesday’s win or if this was a scheduled rest day after travelling cross country with games Friday and Saturday.

After playing over 33 minutes in a slugfest against the 76ers (9 points, 3-for-11 from the field), head coach Ime Udoka said of Brown, “he didn’t say anything. I thought he had a really good effort possession at the end there, denying Embiid the ball and scrambling around late. There’s nothing he said or nothing we saw.”

Brown will have an opportunity to return tomorrow night in Portland.