Celtics Star Jaylen Brown Set To Miss Time With Broken Face

We may soon be watching Celtics star Jaylen Brown sport the famous Rip Hamilton mask after suffering a serious injury on Wednesday.

Brown exited Boston's primetime matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers after suffering a facial fracture.

That's right, his face broke following a tragic case of friendly fire.

Taking an elbow from Celtics forward Jayson Tatum as they went for a rebound, Brown grimaced in pain and held his face before leaving the floor and being downgraded to OUT for the Eastern Conference slugfest.

Considering Brown and Tatum have a healthy rapport off the court, it was likely taken as an unexpected mishap. Unfortunately, Brown's facial fracture is projected to sideline him for multiple weeks, beyond the upcoming All-Star break on Feb. 19.

Brown went on Instagram Thursday to tease fans of potential use of the Hamilton face mask, which is always championed by NBA audiences.

Masked Legend Rip Hamilton

This season, Brown was selected for his second All-Star Game appearance.

(Photo by Erin Clark/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Brown has been a vital part of the Celtics' conference-leading 39-16 record. The six-year player has been averaging 26.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.2 assists a game. On Thursday he was officially ruled out for Boston's upcoming contest against the Charlotte Hornets Friday evening.

"There was nothing I think we could do for him. But he was in a lot of pain when we left," said Celtics guard Malcolm Brogdon after Boston's 106-99 win.

As relayed by ESPN NBA reporter Tim Bontemps, Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla — who's been having a stellar debut year in replacement of suspended ladies man Ime Udoka — said that he tried to reach Brown after the game but that the star forward didn't answer his call.

While there's no suspected bad blood between Jaylen and the Celtics, it was interesting to hear Brown's name get floated around during trade rumors leading up to Feb. 9's trade deadline.

Once Brown's back in full health, the Celtics should be back to steamrolling their competition in the East.