The Celtics are scheduled to face the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night. However, it sounds like Boston is going to be without the services of Al Horford, who's dealing with a sore left knee.

Horford, now 32 years of age, was listed as probable for Wednesday's game against the Knicks, but he felt well enough to play. In 35 minutes of action, the former No. 3 overall pick racked up 19 points, seven rebounds, five assists, two three-pointers, one steal and three blocks.

Though his injury doesn't seem to be severe in nature, Friday's matchup against the Hawks will mark Horford's first absence of this season.

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With Al Horford ruled out for Friday's game inn Atlanta, Celtics head coach Brad Stevens will likely call on Aron Baynes and Daniel Theis to soak up the additional minutes in the frontcourt. Stevens has also noted that the team will activate Robert Williams.

The Celtics are off to a less than ideal start to this season. Prior to the beginning of this campaign, most experts and analysts were already writing Boston in as their favorite to win the Eastern Conference. Now, however, with a 9-9 record under their belt, those same experts are raising a curious eyebrow.

Without a doubt, Horford is an important piece of Boston's rotation. The Dominican native has made 18 appearances with the Celtics this season, averaging 11.7 points on 48.0 percent shooting from the field (31.9 percent from beyond the arc), 6.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.8 blocks in 29.8 minutes per outing.

Friday night's Celtics-Hawks game is scheduled to tip inside State Farm Arena at 7:30 p.m. EST.