Charlotte has been off since Friday, when the team pulled off a two-point win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Celtics are playing the second game of a back-to-back after upending the Washington Wizards at home on Sunday night. Game time is scheduled for 7:30pm EST.

The Hornets pulled out a win on Friday night despite not having LaMelo Ball (ankle), Gordon Hayward (shoulder), Dennis Smith (ankle) and Cody Martin (knee). They have played the majority of the season without their all-star point guard Ball and their offense has struggled without their floor leader. The Hornets are just 24th in points per game, 28th in field goal percentage and 29th in 3pt field goal percentage. They are also just 18th in assist-to-turnover ratio this season. The Hornets will have to perform better offensively if they want to hang with a Celtics team that puts points up in bunches. The aforementioned four injured players will all be out of action on Monday night vs. the Celtics.

The Boston Celtics made it 12 wins in 13 games with an easy win over the Wizards on Sunday night at home, 130-121. Boston won despite not having MVP-candidate Jayson Tatum in the lineup as he rested a sore ankle. Tatum had scored 30 on Friday night in an easy win over the previously red-hot Sacramento Kings. Without Tatum, fellow all-star forward Jaylen Brown dropped 35 points in the win over the Wizards. Boston now sits alone with the best record in the NBA at 16-4. Against the Wizards, Boston went ten-deep with their lineup and built up a 25-point lead through three quarters. The Celtics bench provided over 40 points in the game and it was the second-straight game that little-used players like Payton Pritchard and Luke Kornet gave the team solid minutes off the bench. Celtics’ head coach Joe Mazzulla explained his strategy.

The Celtics offense has been humming thus far this season. The team is #1 in the NBA in scoring, 4th in field goal percentage and 2nd in assist-to-turnover ratio. The addition of Malcolm Brogden has given the team an additional floor leader and Derrick White is off to his best season as an NBA player. Boston has yet to exhibit the kind of half court defense that pushed them to the NBA Finals last year but help is on the way as center Robert Williams III, who has missed the entire season recovering from knee surgery, is due back by Christmas.

Key Injuries: Tatum should be back on Monday night. Keep an eye on Al Horford as the Celtics have chosen to rest him on back-to-back games this season.