Jaylen Brown (knee) doubtful for Wednesday's game vs. Hornets

The Celtics will almost certainly be severely shorthanded for their next game after the team updated the injury status of several players heading into the Wednesday's matchup with the Hornets in Charlotte.

Jaylen Brown is the most noteworthy update of the bunch. The shooting guard left the closing minutes of Monday's loss to the Wizards with a knee injury after taking a hit from Markieff Morris in the paint.



Brown was hobbling quite a bit around the locker room after the defeat and refused to speak with the media on the injury. He left the locker room with the aid of a crutch, so him not being ruled out entirely for Wednesday is probably good news for his long-term prognosis. With that said, I would be surprised to see him at all this week before Sunday's game against the Nets after receiving a doubtful label.

Semi Ojeleye (back) is also doubtful for Wednesday. He missed Monday's game as he continues to recover from a hard fall suffered during Saturday's win against the Bulls.

Marcus Morris (knee) will stay cautious with sore left knee, so he's already listed as out against the Hornets. The Celtics have a back-to-back on Wednesday and Thursday, so it's likely he'll be back in action on Thursday night against the Rockets after missing Wednesday's game.

BSJ Analysis: Without that trio of wings/stretch bigs at his disposal, Brad Stevens will have his work cut out for him on Wednesday night in Charlotte. Marcus Smart will see the start at shooting guard for Brown, but that will leave Abdel Nader as the team's only true wing coming off the bench. Shane Larkin, Terry Rozier, Guerschon Yabusele and Daniel Theis will make up the rest of the team's second unit. Jabari Bird and/or Kadeem Allen will also dress in all likelihood for the contest to help bolster Boston's depth.

The good news for the Celtics is that the Hornets don't have too much firepower on their roster off the bench to give the shorthanded C's too much to worry about. Still, they'll be a lot of pressure on the starters to stay out of foul trouble as the team's entire reserve frontcourt will consist of just rookies. After dropping three of their last four games, Wednesday's contest looms as a meaningful test for this team's mettle.