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Boston Celtics (0-2) at Detroit Pistons (1-1)
Sunday, October 26, 2025
3:30 PM ET
Regular Season Game #3, Road Game #2
TV: NBCSB, FDSNDT, NBA-LP
Radio: 98.5 Sports Hub, 97.1 The Ticket, SiriusXM
Little Caesars Arena
Probable Celtics Starters PG
SG
SF
PF
C
PG: Derrick White
SG: Payton Pritchard
SF: Jaylen Brown
PF: Sam Hauser
C: Neemias Queta
Celtics ReservesAnfernee Simons
Josh Minott
Xavier Tillman
Jordan Walsh
Hugo Gonzalez
Luka Garza
Baylon Scheierman
Chris Boucher
2-Way PlayersRon Harper, Jr
Max Shulga
Amari Williams
Injuries/OutJayson Tatum (Achilles) out
Luka Garza (concussion) questionable
Jaylen Brown (hamstring) questionable
Derrick White (wrist) probable
Head CoachJoe Mazzulla
Probable Pistons StartersPG
SG
SF
PF
C
PG: Cade Cunningham
SG: Duncan Robinson
SF: Ausar Thompson
PF: Tobias Harris
C: Jalen Duren
Pistons Reserves Javonte Green
Ron Holland II
Bobi Klintman
Chaz Lanier
Paul Reed
Tolu Smith
Isaiah Stewart
Two Way Players Daniss Jenkins
Colby Jones
Tolu Smith
Injuries/Out Jaden Ivey (knee) out
Caris LeVert (hamstring) questionable
Marcus Sasser (hip) questionable
Head Coach JB Bickerstaff
Game Notes After losses to the Knicks and 76ers, the Celtics look for their first win of the season as they visit the Detroit Pistons. This is the first of 3 games between these two teams this season. They will host the Pistons on November 26 and will play a second time in Detroit on January 19. Both teams are playing on the first night of back to back games.
This is the home opener for Detroit. Last season the Celtics won the series against Detroit 3 games to 1. The Celtics were 61-21 and 2nd in the East last season while the Pistons were 44-38 and were the 6th seed. The Celtics are 284-160 overall, all time against the Pistons and they are 99-86 when they are playing in Detroit.
The Pistons had a few changes over the off season. They brought in Javonte Green as a free agent. They acquired Duncan Robinson via sign-and-trade with the Miami Heat, sending Simone Fontechio to the Heat in return. They lost Tim Hardaway, Jr to Denver, Dennis Schroder to Sacramento and Lindy Waters III to San Antonio as free agents.
The Celtics are split about evenly between returning and new players. They have 9 returning players and 8 new players on the team this season. Gone are Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, Jrue Holiday and Luke Kornet. New players include Anfernee Simons, Josh Minott, Chris Boucher, Hugo Gonzalez, Luka Garza, Max Shulga, Amari Williams, and Ron Harper, Jr. The Celtics have a core of good players returning along with some young players who are excited to show what they can do.
After this the Celtics will play at New Orleans on Monday. They then return home for one game against the Cavaliers before going on the road to Philadelphia for their first NBA cup game. Then it's two games back at home against Houston and Utah before 2 games in Orlando and then, at Philadelphia once again.
The Pistons opened with 2 games on the road and this is their home opener. This starts a 4 game home stand with another home game on Monday against Cleveland. They finish the home stand against Orlando and Dallas. They then have one game in Memphis, one game at home against Utah before Brooklyn and Philadelphia on the road.
Jayson Tatum remains out with the ruptured Achilles and may or may not return at some time this season. Luka Garza left Wednesday's game after a hard blow to the head and is questionable as he works through the concussion protocol. Jaylen Brown has struggled with hamstring soreness and is questionable for this game. Derrick White is probable after injuring his wrist on Friday.
For the Pistons, Jaden Ivey underwent an arthroscopic procedure to relieve right knee discomfort and is expected to be out until November 24. Caris LeVert missed Friday's game with a hamstring injury and is doubtful for this game. Marcus Sasser also missed Friday's game and is listed as doubtful for this game with hip soreness.
I have listed the same starting lineup that the Celtics used in the first two games. I have a feeling that the Celtics may change up power forward or center as they work to decide which lineups work best. The Pistons used the same starting lineup in their first 2 games and it is the same one they used last year, other than Duncan Robinson.
Key Matchups vs
Derrick White vs Cade Cunninghom
Cunningham averaged 22 points, 7 rebounds, and 9.5 assists over their first 2 games while shooting 37.5% from the field and 28.6% from beyond the arc. Over his career against the Celtics, he averaged 20.9 points 6.5 rebounds and 7.5 assists. Derrick White is probable for this game but if he can't play, Anfernee Simons may get the start.
vs
Jaylen Brown vs Ausar Thompson
Thompson is averaging 15 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 1 steal and 1 block over his first 2 games. He shot 58.3% from the field and 33.3% from beyond the arc. Over his career against the Celtics so far, he averaged 4.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.7 steals per game. Jaylen Brown is listed as questionable for this game. If he can't go, Hugo Gonzalez may get the start.
Honorable Mention Neemias Queta vs Jalen Duren
Duren is averaging 10.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.0 steals, and 1.5 blocks per game while shooting 62.5% from the field with no 3 pointers. Over his career against Boston, he has averaged 8.6 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 1.3 assists. I'm assuming that Queta will start once again at center.
Keys to the Game Defense - As always, defense is the key to winning this, and every, game. The Celtics were second in the preseason with a defensive rating of 100.2. They struggled on the defensive end on Wednesday and again on Friday and slipped to 19th with a defensive rating of 115. The Pistons, on the other hand, are 7th with a defensive rating of 109.7. The Celtics must make defense a priority if they hope to win this season.
Rebound - As with defense, rebounding will always be a key to winning.The Celtics have to crash the boards as a team and go after every rebound. The Celtics led the league with 52 rebounds per game in the preseason, but they only averaged 39.5 in their first 2 games, which is 24th. The Pistons are 5th, averaging 50.5 rebounds over their first 2 games. Much of rebounding is effort and every Celtic has to work harder to grab rebounds.
Move the Ball Carefully - The Celtics have to be careful with the ball and avoid turnovers. They need to make careful passes and also focus on their ball handling so as not to turn the ball over. But they need to move the ball to find the open man and to get the best shots. They are averaging just 17.5 assists per game. This puts them last in the league. They need to move the ball to find open shots.
Pick up the Pace - After a lot of talk about playing faster in the preseason, the Celtics slowed it down in their first 2 games. They were 7th in pace in the preseason (106.13) but they are 26th after their first 2 games (98.75) Their best hope this season is to play fast and hard. They need to play faster and harder in order to win this game because the Pistons play fast (109.7) and they play hard.
X-Factors On the Road - The Celtics are on the road once again. The Celtics are younger this season than last and sometimes young players struggle more on the road than they do at home. They need to overcome the distractions of playing on the road and in front of a hostile crowd and stay focused on playing the right way. They have to come out playing hard right from the beginning and try to keep the Pistons' crowd from getting into the game.
Officiating - Officiating always has the potential to be an x-factor. Each officiating crew calls the game differently. Some refs call it tight and constantly call fouls while others let them play with few fouls called. Some refs make calls that just don't make sense. The Celtics will be on the road and so they can expect the Pistons to get a favorable whistle in their arena. The Celtics need to adjust to how the refs are calling the game and not allow bad calls or no calls to take away their focus.
Topic: Celtics (0-2) at Pistons (1-1) Game #3 10/26/25 (Read 340 times)