Boston Celtics Downgrade Jaylen Brown With Concerning Injury Update vs. Atlanta Hawks

Brown originally landed on the injury report yesterday with calf tightness, but the Celtics changed that diagnosis on Friday afternoon.

Mar 20, 2026; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) and forward Jayson Tatum (0) react during the third quarter against the Memphis Grizzliesat FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

The Celtics will be taking on the Atlanta Hawks tonight without their most important player this season. 

After listing Jaylen Brown  as “questionable” with left calf soreness, the Celtics have downgraded Brown to out, and they’ve updated the injury report to reflect left Achilles tendinitis. 

As I wrote yesterday, any sort of injury around the calf area leads to immediate concerns about it affecting the Achilles tendon. The revelation of Achilles tendinitis is concerning. 

Tendinitis is an inflammation of the tendon, typically around a joint, and is common for athletes, especially basketball players who go through the repetitive stress of running and jumping on hardwood floors. The condition in and of itself isn’t serious, but the location of it is, especially considering the recent uptick in calf and achilles injuries. 

Brown has played 65 games this season, so he should qualify for postseason awards regardless of how long he misses with this injury. The Celtics have 10 games left over a little more than two weeks, so a little rest could be all Brown needs to calm down any irritation and inflammation around the tendon. Rest, ice, and antiinflammatory medication is the typical treatment for tendinitis.

This is the first time this particular injury has been an issue for Brown. He has a history of hamstring issues, which has usually been the cause for missing games. He’s also dealt with a left wrist issue that can be painful from time to time, and a shoulder issue that isn’t often mentioned but is something he’s brought up on his live stream before. 

The Celtics have upgraded Neemias Queta and Derrick White for the game. Queta was listed with a right thumb strain, and White with a right knee contusion. It’s unclear when or where Queta might have hurt his thumb. White suffered the knee contusion against San Antonio and it kept him out of the first matchup against OKC, but hasn’t landed him on the injury report again until yesterday. 

Nikola Vučević remains on the injury report with a fractured right ring finger. He’s due to get reevaluated this weekend.

Jock Landale is the only Hawk on Atlanta’s injury report. He’s listed as questionable with a right shoulder impingement. 

The Hawks come into Boston on a massive roll, winning 14 of their last 16 games to climb into the fifth seed heading into tonight’s game. Only two games separate the fifth through tenth seeds in the East, so Atlanta could very easily be a first-round playoff opponent. The Celtics play Atlanta again on Monday, on the road, in what will be their third game in four nights. The Celtics play in Charlotte on Sunday.