Jaylen Brown played without a mask for the first time since the All-Star break during the Boston Celtics’ Game 4 win over the Atlanta Hawks. Brown started wearing a black facemask after suffering a facial fracture back on Feb. 8 after colliding with Jayson Tatum.
The two-time All-Star started Game 4 wearing the mask, but missed six of his first seven shots. He blamed the mask for his shooting woes and removed it in the second quarter. He went 11-for-15 for the rest of the game to finish with 31 points, four rebounds and three assists.
“I don’t know, maybe it was all in my head,” Brown said after the game regarding his mask. “I just needed something different when I took it off. It just gave me the edge I needed.”
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But for the rest of the series against the Atlanta Hawks, Brown resumed wearing his mask. Celtics legend Cedric Maxwell revealed in Early Edition on NBC Sports Boston why Brown will continue wearing it.
“I talked to Jaylen Brown a minute ago,” Maxwell said. “Jaylen Brown is going back with the mask on, and he’s going to have the mask on because he said he does not feel completely right now. He said he doesn’t want to get hit, because if he gets hit there again, he might need surgery. So, look for that. Jaylen Brown the masked man is coming back.”
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Jaylen Brown could be a target for the Houston Rockets this summer
Jaylen Brown’s relationship with the Boston Celtics and their fanbase is perhaps complicated. Brown has been linked to trade rumors over the past several years, while some fans wanted him out before their turnaround last season.
With former Celtics head coach Ime Udoka now in Houston, Jake Fischer of Yahoo! Sports speculated that the Rockets could go after Brown in the offseason. Fischer explained that Udoka could show interest in his former player and that Houston has the assets to pull off the deal.
“Celtics All-Star Jaylen Brown, whom rival executives are closely monitoring as he becomes extension eligible this summer, has been one of Udoka’s most public supporters after Boston suspended the coach following an improper relationship with a Celtics staffer,” Fischer wrote. “The Rockets, sources said, also addressed the idea of including second-year guard Jalen Green, the No. 2 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, as part of a package for acquiring established star talent.”
Brown is eligible to sign an extension this summer. However, if Brown and the Celtics don’t agree on a new deal, there could be more rumors surrounding his exit next season.
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