The Boston Celtics will look for their 15th victory of the season on Monday when they take on the Los Angeles Clippers at home.
The Celtics will look to improve to 15-3 on the season, and they will have some extra help to their already loaded team.
The Celtics will welcome back their star center, Kristaps Porziņģis, for the first time this season. Porziņģis will play his first game of the season on Monday after recovering from offseason leg surgery.
However, the Celtics will be without two other key players, Al Horford and Luke Kornet.
Monday's game is the second leg of a back-to-back set, so the Celtics are being cautious with Horford in this one. The Celtics will be without one big man, but they'll have another available for this contest.
The Dominican Republic native recorded eight points on 30 percent shooting from the field, four rebounds, four assists, and two blocks in 34 minutes on Sunday against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
In the season, Horford is averaging 10.1 points per game, 5.4 rebounds, and 2.4 assists while shooting 49 percent from the field.
Kornet is ruled out due to a hamstring injury. He last played on Friday against the Wizards, recording six points, six rebounds, one assist, and one block in 24 minutes of action.
In the season, Kornet is averaging 4.4 points per game, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.6 assists while shooting 65 percent from the field.
The Celtics should still be able to handle business against the Clippers, who will be without arguably their two best players, Norman Powell and Kawhi Leonard.
Leonard,33, is out due to knee inflammation, and a timetable for his return has not been announced. A month ago, before the start of the season, the Clippers announced that he would be sidelined indefinitely to begin the NBA season as he rehabilitates from inflammation in his right knee.
The latest update on Leonard is that he was shooting a little but has not practiced with the team yet. As things stand, Leonard did travel with the team on their current four-game road trip that started against the 76ers on Sunday.
Powell is out with a hamstring injury and will miss his fourth consecutive game.
His next chance to play will be Wednesday against the Wizards. Amir Coffey should draw another start in Powell's absence.
