The Boston Celtics will be looking to return to a .500 record on the young season with a clash against the accidentally competitive Utah Jazz, who find themselves a semi-respectable 2-4 thanks to some prolific scoring outbursts from one-time All-Star forward Lauri Markkanen.

More news: Al Horford Says New CBA ‘Destroyed’ Celtics

Boston will get at least a bit of a break in the frontcourt against Utah, as starting center Walker Kessler has already been ruled out of the contest, slated to tip off at 7:30 p.m. ET in TD Garden.

Per Utah’s official X account, Kessler returned to Salt Lake City for more testing on an injured left shoulder.

More news: Celtics Make Wrong Kind of History in Loss vs Knicks

The 7-footer out of Auburn had been in the midst of a stellar scoring season. Through five healthy games, he’s averaging 14.4 points on .703/.750/.700 shooting splits, 10.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.8 blocks and 1.4 steals in 30.8 minutes a night.

Walker’s 75 percent 3-point shooting is in no way sustainable. He is a career 26.6 percent shooter from beyond the arc, on just 0.3 triple tries a night. This year, he’s taking a career-most 1.6 triple tries. Maybe this more robust output will at least be something he continues moving forward. If he can convert his tries around a 35 percent rate, it would be worth doing.

Well-traveled journeyman big Jusuf Nurkic, in the twilight of his NBA career, will start in Kessler’s stead. Across his six healthy games with Boston, the 31-year-old has been averaging 7.0 points on 39 percent shooting from the field and 66.7 percent shooting from the charity stripe, 7.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals a night.

Boston, meanwhile, will once again start Neemias Queta. The 26-year-old big man has been elevated from a fourth-string role last season thanks to the trade of starter Kristaps Porzingis and the free agency departures of vets Al Horford (to the Golden State Warriors) and Luke Kornet (to the San Antonio Spurs).

Across seven healthy games this year (during which Boston has gone 3-4), the 7-footer out of Lisbon has been averaging 8.3 points on 63.2 percent shooting from the field and 71.4 percent free throw shooting, 7.6 rebounds, 1.6 blocks, 1.3 assists, and 0.7 steals a night.

For more news and notes on the Boston Celtics, visit Boston Celtics on SI.