The Boston Celtics are on cruise control for the rest of the regular season. Jayson Tatum and Co. have punched their ticket to the playoffs and are likely to end up as the 2nd seed in the Eastern Conference. On Tuesday, the Celtics will host the Brooklyn Nets at the TD Garden after defeating them in their own backyard just a few days back. The C’s edged past Brooklyn in a closely contested matchup, grabbing a 115-113 victory.

Boston’s big man Kristaps Porziņģis was the star of the show, finishing the night with 24 points. Meanwhile, the Celtics’ superstar duo Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown chipped in another 20 and 8 points, respectively. While it was a great night for Joe Mazzulla’s men, heading into this re-match, they were face-to-face with some injury troubles. They dropped a major update on Jaylen Brown and his partner in crime, Jayson Tatum. So, are the two playing tonight?

Boston Celtics injury report ahead of re-match with Brooklyn

The C’s have had their fair share of injury trouble throughout the season. However, that hasn’t stopped Boston from rolling past opposition and dominating the Eastern Conference. But, any type of injury during this phase of the season raises a lot of concerns for the fans. More so, if the player in question is a superstar like Jaylen Brown. The shooting guard left the court after just 24 minutes of action against the Nets. Since then, their fans have been eager to know his status. So, is Jaylen Brown playing?

Unfortunately, no. The 28-year-old exited Saturday’s encounter due to back spasms and will be out. Well, it’s still a sigh of relief that the reason is back spasms and not his prevailing knee issues. Nonetheless, Boston will miss his presence on the court but will be relieved that it’s nothing serious. This will be the 13th game Brown will miss this season but will give him much-needed rest before the playoffs. So far, he has been immaculate for the C’s, JB has been averaging 22.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 4.7 assists per game.

However, Jaylen Brown isn’t the only star who will be missing tonight. His partner–Jayson Tatum is also on the injury list. The Celtics star is listed as questionable for this matchup. This comes as a result of a knee injury he sustained earlier. He’s already missed a couple of games this month, which could be an attempt by the team management to get him some rest before the big games. Well, whatever might be the reason, the Celtics are nowhere near their best without Tatum or Brown on the field. Well, Tatum’s stats speak volumes in this regard.

The 27-year-old is averaging the fifth-highest 27.1 points in the league. If that’s not impressive, he also grabs 8.7 rebounds and dishes out 5.9 assists every game. With Brown out and Tatum’s fitness in question, the C’s will be in a tough spot against the Nets tonight. Although they aren’t in great form, Brooklyn will see the duo’s absence as a window of opportunity to grab a rare win against Boston tonight. Having said that, Celtics HC Joe Mazzulla isn’t a big fan of taking things lightly. So, the championship-winning coach will have a plan for the visitors.

How can Boston Celtics star amid their injury concerns?

Well, the C’s don’t have much riding on this game. However, they wouldn’t want to get too complacent against the Nets tonight, especially being short-handed with Brown’s absence. So, Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porziņģis might have to step up once again and emulate their performances against Brooklyn from just a few days back. Moreover, Sam Hauser and Payton Pritchard could see their minutes extended for tonight’s encounter.

So, here’s how the Celtics could start:

Ultimately, this might be another closer affair with Brown out and Tatum’s fitness in the air. However, with players such as Porzingis, Holiday, and White in their ranks the Celtics will still remain favorites to grab a win tonight once again. This also comes as a result of Brooklyn’s poor form. But, you can never say never in the NBA as anything can happen. So, everyone will be watching closely as the ball goes in the air tonight at the TD Garden.