Celtics at Pelicans
The Boston Celtics hope to have All-Star guard Isaiah Thomas in the lineup and could welcome back big man Al Horford when they visit the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday. Thomas sprained his left middle finger in Saturday's 105-99 win at the Indiana Pacers but recovered to score his team's final eight points and finish with 23.
Thomas told reporters after the game that he expects to play, but just has to "figure out how to shoot." Horford, meanwhile, has missed six consecutive games due to a concussion but traveled with the team to Indiana with the idea that he would play either against the Pacers or the Pelicans. New Orleans could be a soft landing spot for the banged-up Celtics, having won just one game after falling to 0-5 at home with a 126-99 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday. Anthony Davis scored 34 points and is averaging 31.1, nearly a third of the Pelicans' production (101.3) as a team.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, CSN New England (Boston), FSN New Orleans
ABOUT THE CELTICS (5-4): With Horford and forward Jae Crowder (ankle) still out, and Thomas banged up, Boston was pleased with a rare contribution from reserve swingman James Young, who entered Saturday having gone scoreless in 19 minutes on the season but emerged to record 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting. "He's shot it at such a different level than he shot it two years ago when he got here, as far as accuracy in workouts, in practice, and everything else," coach Brad Stevens told the media. "He's certainly always a capable shooter with a beautiful stroke, but he's really really worked hard on becoming accurate." Kelly Olynyk chipped in 16 points and is averaging 17.5 and 6.5 rebounds in two games - both wins - since being inserted into the starting lineup.
ABOUT THE PELICANS (1-9): Davis played through back pain in the loss to the Lakers and continues to forge ahead through mounting frustration as the superstar of a franchise that looked to be heading in the right direction but it 31-61 the last two seasons. "He's not happy. No one would be happy in this situation," coach Alvin Gentry told reporters. "I don't think anyone's happy. This is not what we anticipated." The rest of New Orleans' starters combined to score fewer points (16) than rookie reserve Buddy Hield (18), although he was 1-of-4 from 3-point distance and is shooting 23.6 percent for the league's worst long-range squad (28.8).
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Thomas has scored at least 23 points in each of the first nine games this season.
2. Pelicans PG Jrue Holiday (personal reasons) is expected to make his season debut this week, although reports suggest it will be Wednesday against Orlando or Friday against Portland.
3. Boston has won four straight meetings and picked up a 111-93 win in its previous trip to New Orleans.