On Monday night in Queen City, the Boston Celtics play the Charlotte Hornets to round off their six-game road trip.
Jaylen Brown is out for the visitors due to a left-hand sprain that he reported following Saturday’s 104-92 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans. He plans to have it evaluated when he gets back to Boston.
The hosts are also shorthanded. Their lengthy injury report includes LaMelo Ball, who’s inactive due to right ankle tendinopathy. Another of the franchise’s top players, Mark Williams, is recovering from a right lower back injury and remains sidelined.
Seth Curry is unavailable because of a right ankle sprain. Cody Martin is out due to a left ankle sprain. Nick Richards is inactive because of right plantar fascia discomfort.
With Williams, Charlotte’s starting center when healthy, in street clothes, the Hornets are starting Grant Williams at center. That means the six-foot-six former Celtic will match up with seven-foot-three Kristaps Porzingis.
With eight games remaining in the regular season, the Celtics are currently in cruise control. They’ve already secured the East’s best record. In addition, the C’s ought to shortly secure the NBA’s best record, granting them home-court advantage for the duration of the postseason.
With a strong record of 58-16 this season, the Celtics have the luxury of doing just that. A club had to win 40 games before losing 20 to be a legitimate title contender, according to Hall of Fame coach Phil Jackson’s renowned “contender rule.” Before they have 20 losses, these Celtics will probably record 60 victories.
On that note, Celtics fans should still keep an eye on the bottom of the East standings for playoff reasons. Of course, with the new play-in tournament, the No. 8 seed in the playoffs won’t be determined until a few days before the first round. There are also four teams in the running who could end up being that seed, so there’s a lot of uncertainty.
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