Cal Basketball: Jaylen Brown and Celtics Shelved By COVID-19 Protocols

Former Cal player presumed to be sidelined due to contact tracing

NBA defenses haven’t been able to stop Jaylen Brown this season but the former Cal player met an opponent Sunday he couldn’t beat: COVID-19 protocols.

Brown and three Boston Celtics teammates were ruled out of Sunday night’s scheduled game against Miami because of COVID-19 health and safety protocols.

Boston was prepared to play the game with the NBA-mandated eight minimum players.

The game was then postponed because the Heat did not meet that minimum.

The Celtics, at 7-3, sit atop the NBA's Eastern Conference, tied with the Philadelphia 76ers. The Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns of the Western Conference also entered play Sunday with 7-3 records.

Boston’s Jayson Tatum has tested positive for the coronavirus and Brown, Javonte Green and Semi Ojeleye are presumed out due to contact tracing.

Players shelved by contact tracing are expected to be out a minimum of seven days.

Brown is averaging 26.3 points through 10 games to rank 10th in the NBA in scoring. Tatum, at 26.9 points, is seventh among league scoring leaders.

The Celtics’ roster has been ravaged by a variety of issues.

Robert Williams tested positive late last week, and Tristan Thompson and Grant Williams were held out because of contact tracing. Because of the COVID outbreak, the Celtics training facility has been closed.

Kemba Walker (knee) and Romeo Langford (wrist) remain out because of injuries.

This is the second game postponed in the NBA this season. A game between Oklahoma City and Houston was postponed on Dec. 23 because the Rockets did not have enough eligible players.

Brown, in his fifth season out of Cal, is enjoying his best year. The 24-year-old forward is shooting 54 percent from the field, 42 percent on 3-point attempts.

He has scored at least 20 points in eight of 10 games with a career-best 42 against Memphis on Dec. 30. Brown scored 27 points and grabbed a season-best 13 rebounds in Boston’s most recent game, a Friday victory over Washington.

Brown was the No. 3 pick of the 2016 NBA draft after just a single season playing at Cal. He averaged a career-best 20.3 points in 2019-20.

.

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo