Analysis: Gordon Hayward, Al Horford, Aron Baynes all out against Hornets

The Celtics will be extremely shorthanded in the frontcourt on Saturday night, as the team ruled out Aron Baynes, Gordon Hayward and Al Horford out for the team's matchup against the Hornets.

Hayward will miss his third straight game with a concussion, but Brad Stevens sounded optimistic that the swingman is inching closer to a return, perhaps as soon as Sunday night against the Spurs.

“He felt a lot better the last couple of days, has gone through every progression OK, so we’ll see if he’s available Sunday," Stevens told reporters on Friday. "They pushed him pretty good, and he feels pretty good. So hopefully sooner rather than later.”

Horford is out officially due to left knee soreness, but Stevens has said the team planned to rest him at least two or three games over the rest of the regular season. With a back-to-back matchup looming against a tough Spurs frontline on Sunday back in Boston, Saturday's rest looks to be timed strategically.

The best news of the whole day on the injury front may have been on Baynes, who was diagnosed with Grade 2 ankle sprain on Wednesday night in Philadelphia. That type of sprain has forced players to miss weeks of action in the past, but the prognosis on Baynes seems a lot more positive than anticipated after getting tested back on Boston on Thursday.

“He had an MRI  that actually came back more positive, so we are hopeful that we get him back sooner rather than later, as well," Stevens said. "I’ve been told, pending the results of it, he’s not an automatic out on Sunday. I’d say he’s unlikely, but he’s not automatically out.”

Analysis: The Celtics practiced with RJ Hunter and PJ Dozier on Friday in Charlotte so look for both two-way players to be in uniform for added depth on Saturday night.

The tough news for the Celtics from a front line perspective is that they will be facing a couple of elite offensive rebounders in Bismack Biyombo and Willy Hernangomez on Saturday night. That will put all types of pressure on Daniel Theis, Marcus Morris and the rest of the Celtics front line to ensure Boston does not get crushed on the glass without their top bigs in Horford and Baynes.

It's unclear if the Celtics will have Monroe available for Saturday's matchup but there's no questioning his rebounding ability will put him to use this weekend for Boston when facing frontcourts with size. While the prognosis on Baynes is very encouraging, the team won't want to use him much ahead of the postseason to help ensure his ankle is at 100 percent ahead of the postseason grind. The same goes for Horford's minutes when the team does not rest him.

The Celtics obviously still want to win as many games as possible to secure the No. 4 seed and will play to full capacity in important matchups (i.e. against the Pacers) but health still looms as the top priority and this group needs to protect their aging veterans up front since the dropoff at that position is quite sharp. In the meantime, Theis, Williams, Guerschon Yabusele and Monroe will all get various opportunities over the final 10 games to help secure homecourt advantage for this group in the first round. Those chances begin tonight in Charlotte.