The OKC Thunder take on the Boston Celtics on Saturday night in the TD Garden, each team playing the second night of a back-to-back. The Thunder are coming off a loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday evening while the Boston Celtics are fresh off throttling their arch-rival Los Angeles Lakers.
The Oklahoma City Thunder will once again take the floor without their head coach, as bench boss Mark Daigneault is still in Oklahoma City with his wife Ashley as they await the birth of their child. Dave Bliss, who paced the sidelines for the first time last night in his home state, will remain the acting head coach. The organization will take on a few familiar foes in Boston tonight.
The OKC Thunder are without Mike Muscala, others as the Celtics will battle without Jaylen Brown
The Oklahoma City Thunder list Mike Muscala (rest) as out for the contest against the Celtics, as his fellow elder statemen Derrick Favors will play on night two after resting yesterday against the Bucks.
The OKC Thunder will also be without a few G-League assignments in Tre Mann, Theo Maledon, Vit Krejci, and two-way player Paul Watson Jr. The team will be battling short-handed tonight and looking to stop a losing streak before it swells.
The Boston Celtics list Jaylen Brown, their second option and all-star caliber player, as out in this tilt with a lingering injury. Robert Williams II is doubtful, and former Thunder-guard Dennis Schroder is probable.
That means former-Thunder big man Al Horford, the 35-year-old Florida product will play in both games of the back to back, a feat he never accomplished in Bricktown.
The Boston Celtics come in with an 8-8 record playing what feels like 16 overtime games, so they are no strangers to the theatric endings that the OKC Thunder are used to producing with most of their winnings being of the come from behind variety.