Celtics can promote deeper bench piece to starting lineup vs Hornets given injuries to Derrick White, Al Horford

Given the announced absences of Derrick White and Al Horford, Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla could promote a "deeper bench piece" to get a spot start against the Charlotte Hornets on November 20 so as to not disrupt the flow of an in-progress second unit according to MassLive's Brian Robb; that is, if Sam Hauser doesn't get the start.

"With White sidelined, Joe Mazzulla will likely turn to Sam Hauser in the starting lineup who has been on fire lately from 3-point range," Robb prefaced before saying, "He got the starting nod last week in Philadelphia with Jaylen Brown sidelined and is shooting 47.5 percent from 3-point range on the season. If Joe Mazzulla doesn’t want to mess with his bench rotation much, it’s possible he could promote a deeper bench piece (Oshae Brissett, Lamar Stevens, Svi Mykhailiuk) to a spot start against an uptempo Hornets squad."

Brissett, Stevens, and Mykhailiuk have a combined 16 games played through the C's first 13 games on the schedule. Hence the "deeper" label from Robb. Relying on any of them is a clear sign that the Hornets are not exactly feared by Mazzulla and Co.

Jaylen Brown no longer on Boston Celtics injury report, okay but angry after injury scare

Jaylen Brown is no longer on the Celtics injury report after a scare against the Toronto Raptors during a November 17 In-Season Tournament game. Following the scary injury that didn't cost him the next game against the Memphis Grizzlies, Brown had an impassioned plea to the league to make the court safer.

"The court was just slippery all game," Brown said on November 18 (h/t Fox News). "As players, we’re all here for the In-Season Tournament because it’s going to generate revenue, excitement, competition, etcetera. But we’ve got to make sure the floor is safe to play on. We can’t put our players out there and risk their health."

Brown being healthy is a blessing for Boston, but being without White, and thus, the C's unstoppable starting lineup, means the Hornets were given serious grace by the basketball gods on Monday.