Jaylen Brown out, Payton Pritchard available vs. Clippers

One step forward, two steps back for the Celtics injury report. The team has announced that Jaylen Brown is out tonight vs. the Clippers with a sore left knee, but Payton Pritchard will return after spending two weeks nursing a right MCL sprain.

The Celtics played in Sacramento on Wednesday night on the second game of a back-to-back where Brown seemingly injured his knee:

Midway through the third quarter in Sacramento, Brown appeared to come up gimpy after stripping D’Aaron Fox and breaking out for a transition dunk. However, he didn’t appear hampered by the injury for the rest of the game.

Kemba Walker, who sat out against the Kings for load management, will also be back in the lineup and should shoulder much of the offensive responsibility in Brown’s absence. Payton Pritchard slides in as a valuable third guard off the bench.

After putting up 21 points in 34 minutes in Sacramento, Brown made a brief mention of the wear and tear of the regular season, saying, “I can definitely play better in spots. And just playing with more energy, and stuff like that, getting healthy. Some nagging injuries and stuff like that.”

This marks the first missed game for Brown this season. Boston should be wary of putting too much pressure on their young star. February poses a brutal 17-game schedule over 26 days and Friday marks a tough third game in four nights on this west coast road trip.