The Boston Celtics will have most of their roster available for their road matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday, which takes place at 3:30 p.m. EST on NBATV, as three players — Jaylen Brown (ankle), Gordon Hayward (knee) and Daniel Theis (ankle) — return to the court after missing Boston’s last game with various injuries.
Brown and Hayward, key starters for Boston, will be the most beneficial returns for the Celtics, who relied upon rookies Romeo Langford and Grant Williams in their absence.
Though Langford and Williams played reasonably well, Brown and Hayward — both having their best seasons of their Celtics career — are averaging a combined 37.5 points, 12.9 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game while both are shooting above 49 percent from the field and 37 percent from three.
The Thunder, sitting at sixth in the Western Conference standings with a 32-20 record, will understandably have a much tougher time taking down Boston with the returns of Brown and Hayward. Theis, an intelligent inside-outside presence for the Celtics at the pivot, is shooting just 31.7 percent and is undersized — especially against Thunder center Steven Adams — but his ability to space the floor and draw the Goliath-sized big man out of the paint will aid the efforts of Boston’s slashers.
