Celtics Notebook: Al Horford, Jaylen Brown ruled out for Cavs, Ainge quiets Kendrick Perkins rumor mill

Jaylen Brown did not take part in practice for the second straight day on Thursday afternoon at the Auerbach Center, as Brad Stevens acknowledged he would miss his second consecutive game on Friday night with a bruised tailbone. The team also announced Al Horford will have a scheduled night of rest against the Cavs, which should open up some minutes for Aron Baynes and Daniel Theis while facing more traditional bigs in Larry Nance Jr. and Tristan Thompson.

With a back-to-back scheduled on Friday night at the Garden and Saturday in Minnesota, the odds seem to favor Brown missing both contests and resting the injury for a full week and a half from game action before the C's return to the floor next Thursday night in a home tilt against the Knicks.

The added benefit of playing it cautious with Brown? Stevens will get some extra time to look at the new fits in the starting five from Monday night, featuring Marcus Smart in the backcourt and Marcus Morris at the 4 without having to make any demotions official.

"We’re going to keep -- well, I’m not going to say it like I’m the coach, but we’re going to keep, I’m guessing, that unit to see how it goes," Morris said Thursday.

The Irving/Smart/Tatum/Morris/Horford lineup has a net rating of +29 in the 52 minutes they've played together this year.

Ainge puts an end to Kendrick Perkins speculation

Kendrick Perkins was back in Boston on Wednesday night at the TD Garden for the "Tradition" ceremony honoring Paul Pierce and made some headlines after declaring that he had reached out to Danny Ainge regarding potentially finishing his career in Green this season.

While the thought was fun for nostalgia purposes and did fit Kyrie Irving's request for a 15-year veteran in the locker room, Danny Ainge was quick to throw cold water on the possibility during an interview this morning with Toucher and Rich on 98.5 The Sports Hub.

"I don't think it's a good fit for our team right now," Ainge said. "You never know what happens during the course of the season, but right now we have a lot of bigs. We have some bigs that we really like that we can't even find time for. So, it's probably not a good fit for us at this moment."

The Celtics continue to have a full 15-man roster at the moment with the Jabari Bird case still unsettled and with the team opting for small ball more and more, there's quite a logjam at the end of the bench already with Theis, Robert Williams and Guerschon Yabusele riding the pine together in recent weeks.

While Perkins deserves to finish his career in green eventually, Ainge is not one for nostalgia in the midst of a chance to contend. Perhaps, he'll sign a one-day deal this offseason like Pierce did last summer, but, for now, Perkins will have to look for a chance at his final NBA season elsewhere.

Celtics waive two-way guard Walter Lemon Jr. 

The team announced they have released Walter Lemon Jr. on Thursday afternoon. The 26-year-old guard had averaged 23 ppg during 10 games with the Red Claws this season and had seen no action for Boston outside of the preseason. The C's will have the ability to sign another player in the two-way slot this season, but they are not required to.