Boston is on a tear, but now’s not the time to ease up. The Celtics are locked in and making it look easy. Tuesday night’s 111-101 win over the Raptors? Not just another W—it marked their tenth victory in the last 11 games and sixth straight dub. Hitting the road for the first half of a back-to-back, Boston rolled into Toronto ready to handle business. And despite some pre-game questions about Jaylen Brown’s status, there was zero hesitation once he hit the floor. Brown logged 33 minutes and helped keep the Celtics in cruise control all night.

Boston is holding onto the No. 2 seed, but with 24 games left, they need every edge they can get. Wednesday’s showdown with the Pistons won’t be a cakewalk—Detroit is suddenly red-hot, riding a seven-game win streak and winning eight of their last ten.

And just when the Celtics could use all hands on deck,  Brown lands on the injury report again. He’s been ruled out with a left thigh contusion, which is the last thing Boston fans want to hear. Brown’s thigh bruise isn’t surprising. The Celtics forward didn’t make it through the entire second half on Tuesday. In the third quarter, he limped off to the locker room, clearly in pain. He came back in the fourth, played 8:41, but then sat out the last few minutes.

After the game, he told The Boston Globe he had a bone bruise and wasn’t sure if he’d be good to go for Wednesday. Definitely not the update Celtics fans wanted.

Brown has been huge this season, averaging 22.9 points, 4.7 assists, and 6.1 rebounds. You saw what he did last year—Finals MVP for a reason. But tonight, the Celtics will have to take on Detroit without their four-time All-Star. Slowing down a surging Pistons squad just got a lot tougher.

His impact goes beyond just scoring, though. Brown’s defense has been a game-changer, and we all saw it on full display in last year’s postseason. His relentless pressure on Luka Doncic didn’t just help Boston secure Banner 18—it may have pushed Dallas into making one of the biggest trades in franchise history.

How did Jaylen Brown influence the Doncic trade?

NBA insider Marc Spears believes Brown’s defense made the Mavericks rethink their future. “What he did to Luka in the Finals, shutting him down, guarding him full court, making it unbearable offensively, led Dallas to questioning Luka as the leader of the team, and questioning whether he was in shape or not.”

Doncic still put up numbers—29.2 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 5.6 assists—but stats don’t always tell the full story. Brown made life miserable for him, forcing bad shots and disrupting Dallas’ entire offense. That series exposed concerns about the 5x All-Star’s conditioning and leadership.

Of course, the Finals weren’t the only reason for the trade. Frustrations had been brewing. Kyrie Irving struggled, the supporting cast fell short, and the front office probably felt they weren’t close to contending. Instead of retooling, they hit reset.

And now? Doncic is a Laker. The Celtics-Lakers rivalry already runs deep, but this just took it to another level. If fate plays its part, a Finals rematch might be coming—this time, with the Slovenian looking to settle the score.