Celtics NBA Championship Odds Fade to +8500 After Announcing Jaylen Brown Out for Season Due to Wrist Injury
- The NBA championship odds of the Boston Celtics lengthened to +8500 after news broke that forward Jaylen Brown was out for the season
- Brown suffered a torn ligament in his left wrist
- Boston was at a betting line of +5000 to win the NBA title prior to this development
No longer are they asking what Brown can do for the Boston Celtics. Today, the question is what can the Celtics do without Brown?
The answer, according to the oddsmakers, is not much.
News broke early Monday evening that Celtics forward Jaylen Brown’s 2020-21 NBA campaign was finished due to a torn scapholunate ligament in his left wrist. Almost immediately, Celtics futures took a nosedive.
Boston is now given odds of +8500 to win the NBA title. Prior to the Brown injury, the Celtics were at +5000 in the NBA championship odds.
2021 NBA Championship Odds
| Team | Odds at FanDuel |
|---|---|
| Brooklyn Nets | +210 |
| Los Angeles Lakers | +550 |
| Los Angeles Clippers | +600 |
| Utah Jazz | +600 |
| Milwaukee Bucks | +800 |
| Philadelphia 76ers | +800 |
| Boston Celtics | +8500 |
Odds as of May 10th
Boston is 35-33 and currently sixth overall in the Eastern Conference.
Brown Was Enjoying Career Year
With the departure of Gordon Hayward and the inconsistent campaign of Kemba Walker, Boston required Brown to step up this season. He was delivering the goods.
The fifth-year forward was putting up personal best numbers across the board. He was posting career-high averages in points (24.7), assists (3.4), steals (1.2), blocks (0.6) and minutes played (34.5).
#NEBHInjuryReport This past weekend Celtics forward Jaylen Brown was diagnosed with a torn scapholunate ligament in his left wrist. Brown is expected to have the torn ligament surgically repaired later this week, and will be out for the remainder of the 2020-21 season.
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) May 10, 2021
This was all accomplished while shooting 48.4% from the field, 39.7% from 3-point range and 76.4% from the free-throw line. All of those digits were also career bests. In doing so, Brown made the NBA All-Star Team for the first time.
Also suffering from a twisted ankle suffered in a collision with teammate Jayson Tatum, Brown hasn’t seen game action since May 2nd. Boston has gone 1-2 without Brown. He’s expected to undergo surgery on his wrist later this week.
Play-In Date Ahead
Boston will be facing its latest most important game of the NBA season. On Tuesday, the Celtics play host to the Miami Heat at TD Garden. Minus Brown on Sunday afternoon, the Celtics fell 130-124 to the Heat, also at TD Garden.
Play-In Picture: Heat push Celtics to brink of Play-In Tournament, with another key Miami-Boston showdown coming up. (via https://t.co/Pqxh2EPubW)https://t.co/kfbhu2aaqZ pic.twitter.com/BM7QL7QDRF
— NBA (@NBA) May 10, 2021
The Heat, who beat Boston in last season’s Eastern Conference final, are situated sixth in the East at 37-31, two games ahead of the Celtics.
If Boston can’t catch Miami – and that seems an unlikely outcome minus Brown – the Celtics are destined to participate in the NBA play-in round for the seventh and eighth seedings.
Injury-Plagued Celtics Campaign
The compacted season due to the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the health of plenty of NBA teams and the Celtics are no exception.
An oblique strain, knee ailment and illness combined to cost Walker 20 games. Shooting guard Evan Fournier lost 27 games through health protocols and groin and knee issues. Point guard Marcus Smart (illness/calf/thumb) was out 20 games.
Jaylen Brown this season:
24.7 PPG (Career high)
6.0 RPG
3.4 APG (Career high)
1.2 SPG (Career high)
48.4% FG (Career high)
39.7% 3PT (Career high)
76.4% FT (Career high)
All-StarShoutout to JB on a great season 🙏 He’s going to come back even better pic.twitter.com/qsO2d6LMZH
— NBA Central (@TheNBACentral) May 10, 2021
Shooting guard Romeo Langford (wrist/concussion) lost 49 games. A chest injury and health protocols cost center Tristan Thompson 15 games. Power forward Tatum (ankle/illness/Covid-19) lost seven games. Center Robert Williams (toe/knee/illness/hip/health protocols) was out 16 games.
Through a combination of ankle, shoulder, illness, hip, knee, health protocols and his wrist ailment, Brown has already been absent for 10 games this season. Boston was already an extreme longshot to make a playoff run with him in action.
Minus Brown, the Celtics are sure to go down early.
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An industry veteran, Bob literally taught the course on the history of sports at Elder College. He has worked as a Sports Columnist for Postmedia, appeared as a guest on several radio stations, was the Vice President of the Society For International Hockey Research in Ontario, and written 25 books.
