The Boston Celtics will be without Gordon Hayward on Saturday when they take on the Dallas Mavericks on the road, according to Jay King of The Athletic. King writes:

“Gordon Hayward is out tonight with ankle soreness. Terry Rozier is questionable with knee soreness.”

It's no secret that Hayward is working his way back slowly from the gruesome injury that he suffered minutes into the 2017-18 season. He has yet to return to his All-Star form and it's starting to grow into a major concern for Brad Stevens. Of course, it's still very early in the season, but the Celtics don't look like one of the favorites in the Eastern Conference.

Hayward was supposed to be one of the linchpins in Boston alongside Kyrie Irving and Al Horford, but he hasn't lived up to expectations quite yet. He's only averaging 10.3 points per game on 40 percent shooting. Stevens has opted to move Hayward to the bench to see if that will spark him.

That hasn't worked out yet as his numbers off the bench are similar to his numbers as a starter. That being said, he's only come off the bench in three games so it's hard to make judgments based on small sample sizes.

In addition to Hayward, Rozier could be another Celtic out with soreness. As King reports, Rozier is dealing with knee soreness that could keep him out of Saturday's contest.

The Celtics are still a very deep team, but with their early-season scuffles, they need to start finding their rhythm.