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Golden State Warriors (33-35) at Boston Celtics (45-23)
Wednesday, March 18, 2026
7:00 PM ET
Regular Season Game #69 Home Game #34
TV: ESPN, NBCSB, NBCSBA
Radio: 98.5 Sports Hub, 95.7 the Game, Sirius XM
TD Garden
Probable Celtics Starters 
PG: Derrick White ...................................... SG: Jaylen Brown
C: Neemias Queta
SF: Sam Hauser ............................................ PF: Jayson Tatum
Celtics ReservesPayton Pritchard
Hugo Gonzalez
Luka Garza
Amare Williams
Jordan Walsh
Baylor Scheierman
Max Shulga
Charles Bassey (10-Day)
2-Way PlayersRon Harper, Jr
Injuries/OutNikola Vucevic (finger) out
John Tonje (G-League) out
Head CoachJoe Mazzulla
Probable Warriors Starters 
PG: De'Anthony Melton ................................................. SG: Brandin Podziemski
C: Draymond Green
SF: Will Richard .............................................. PF: Gui Santos
Warriors Reserves Pat Spencer
Gary Payton II
Kristaps Porzingis
Omer Yurtseven (10 Day)
2 Way PlayersLJ Cryer
Malevy Leons
Nate Williams
Injuries/Out Jimmy Butler (knee) out
Seth Curry (thigh) out
Stephen Curry (knee) out
Al Horford (calf) out
Moses Moody (wrist) out
Quinten Post (foot) questionable
LJ Cryer (hamstring) questonable
Gary Payton II (tibia) probable
Head Coach Steve Kerr
Game Notes The Celtics host the Golden State Warriors for the 2nd, and final, game between them this season. The Celtics won the first game 121-110 at Golden State on February 19. These two teams tied the series last season with each team winning on the road. The Celtics are 212-141 overall, all time against the Warriors and 118-40 in games played in Boston.
There are plenty of story lines surrounding this game. Warriors coach, Steve Kerr, coached the last Olympics team and he treated Jayson Tatum shabbily, not playing him in 2 games and limited minutes in others. We could also talk about the 2 former Celtics on the team. Al Horford left Boston expecting to have a better chance at another ring but it hasn't turned out that way. Kristaps Porzingis joined the Warriors at the trade deadline and although he has played in just 22 games this season, he played in the Warriors' 1st game against the Celtics and is expected to play in this game as well.
The Celtics are 2nd in the East, 4 games behind 1st place Detroit. They are 1 game ahead of 3rd place New York, 3.5 games ahead of 4th place Cleveland, 6.5 games ahead of 5th place Toronto, 7 games ahead of 6th place Orlando, and 7.5 games ahead of 7th place Miami. The Celtics are 16-9 against Western Conference opponents. They are 23-10 at home and 7-3 in their last 10 games. They have won their last 2 games.
The Warriors are 9th in the West, 20 games behind the 1st place Thunder, 8 games behind 6th place Minnesota, 6 games behind 7th place Phoenix, and 1 game behind the 8th place Clippers. They are half a game ahead of 10th place Portland and 9.5 games ahead of 11th place Memphis. They are 14-20 on the road and 3-7 in their last 10 games. They are 11-13 against Eastern Conference opponents and they are coming off a win in their last game.
After this game at home against Golden State, The Celtics will play one game at Memphis before a 3 game home stand against Minnesota, Oklahoma City and Atlanta. Then it's back on the road for a 4 game trip through Charlotte, Atlanta, Miami and Milwaukee. They will then play two games at home against Toronto and Charlotte before one game on the road at New York. They will finish the season with 2 games at home against New Orleans and Orlando.
The Warriors are playing in the 3rd game of a 6 game road trip. They will finish it playing at Detroit, Atlanta and Dallas. They will return home for games against Brooklyn and Washington before one game on the road at Denver. They will then have a 5 game home stand where they will host San Antonio, Cleveland, Houston, Sacramento, and the Lakers. They will finish the season on the road against Sacramento and the Clippers.
The Celtics have just one player on the injury report at this time. Nikola Vucevic remains out after surgery to stabilize a fracture in his right ring finger. The Warriors have 5 players out and another 2 players questionable. Jimmy Butler (knee), Seth Curry (thigh), Stephen Curry (knee), Al Horford (calf), and Moses Moody (wrist) are all listed as out. LJ Cryer (hamstring) and Quinten Post (foot) are both questionable. Finally, Gary Payton II (tibia) is listed as probable.
Key Matchups vs
Derrick White vs De'Anthony Melton
Melton is averaging 13.4 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game. He is shooting 42.5% from the field and 29.8% from beyond the arc. He is coming off a game where he finished with 27 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. In the first game against the Celtics, he finished with 18 points, 3 rebounds 1 assist and 1 steal while shooting 53.8% from the field and 33.3% from beyond the arc.
vs
Jaylen Brown vs Brandin Podziemski
Podziemski is averaging 13 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 3.8 assists. He is shooting 44.7% from the field and 36.9% from beyond the arc. In the first game against the Celtics, he finished with 11 points 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 block and 1 steal while shooting 62.5% from the field and 33.3% from beyond the arc.
Honorable Mention Luka Garza vs Kristaps Porzingis
This is a battle of big men off the bench. Porzingis has played in just 5 games for Golden State this season and in 17 games for the Hawks before being traded. He is averaging 17.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.7 assists. He is shooting 45.8% from the field and 34.5% from beyond the arc. He is coming off his best game as a Warrior in which he finished with 30 points, , 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks. In the first game against the Celtics,he finished with 12 points, 1 rebound, and 1 assist while shooting 55.6% from the field and 40% from 3.
Keys to the Game Defense - Defense is always the key to winning. The Celtics are 5th in the league with a defensive rating of 111.8. The Warriors are 13th in the league, with a defensive rating of 113.4. The Celtics are 2nd with an offensive rating of 119.7 while the Warriors are 14th and have an offensive rating of 114.3. The Celtics need to play lock down defense consistently. The Celtics need to especially defend the perimeter as the Warriors are 1st in the league making 16.2 threes per game. They are 26th with 44.6 points in the paint per game. Of course, their biggest 3 point threat, Steph Curry is out for this game, but the Celtics can't let up on defense because of it since other Warriors are capable of hitting shots as well.
Rebound - Rebounding is always a key to winning as you need the ball to score and a good way to get it is to grab rebounds. It takes effort to grab rebounds and the Celtics must make an extra effort to crash the boards and beat the Warriors to rebounds. If they put out extra effort on the boards, that usually carries through to the rest of their game. More rebounds gives them extra possessions and limits the possessions for the Warriors. The Warriors are 22nd with 42.9 rebounds per game while the Celtics are 4th with 46.2 rebounds per game.
Three Pointers - Both of these teams shoot a lot of 3 pointers. The Celtics are 3rd in the league, shooting 42.5 threes a game. The Warriors are 1st, shooting 45.2 threes a game. The Celtics shoot 36.2% from beyond the arc while the Warriors shoot 35.7% on threes. With Steph Curry out, they don't shoot quite as many 3's or quite as well but they still are dangerous from the perimeter. The Celtics are tough to beat when their 3's are falling but they struggle when they aren't They need to stay focused on taking and making good shots and if the 3's aren't falling they should take a page from Jaylen Brown's book and drive into the paint.
Move the Ball Carefully - The Celtics play the best when they move the ball and find the open man. They struggle more when players try to do too much and when the ball sticks with one player too long and when they take quick shots without looking for the best shot. The Celtics are 30-2 when they have at least 25 assists and they are 16-0 when they have at least 29 assists. They need to look to share the ball and not over dribble or try to take over at the expense of open teammates. They have to be careful with their passes as the Warriors average 19.4 points off turnovers per game.
Be Aggressive - The Celtics need to be the more aggressive team from start to finish. They need to be aggressive in going to the hoop, in crashing the boards, in fighting for loose balls and in running the court. They also have to be more aggressive on defense. The Warriors are short handed and will be playing hard to make up for that. The Celtics can't slack off and expect an easy game because key Warriors are out. Effort and being more aggressive will likely be the difference in this game.
X-FactorsHome Game vs Road Fatigue - The Warriors have won 1 and lost 1 game on this road trip and have 3 more games to go on the trip after this one.. The Warriors are away from family and home and have the distractions of staying in a hotel and playing in an unfamiliar arena in front of a (very) hostile crowd. Hopefully the Celtics crowd will be loud and rowdy and give the Celtics extra energy to avenge Kerr's treatment of Tatum in the Olympics along with their loss in the 2022 Finals.
Officiating - Officiating always has the potential to be a factor in every game. Every officiating team calls the game differently. Some call it tight and others let them play. Some favor the home team while some call it evenly. However the game is called, the Celtics must adjust to it and not allow the officiating to take away their focus on playing the game. They need to play well enough that a few bad calls won't make a difference in the game.
Topic: Warriors (33-35) at Celtics (45-23) Game #69 3/18/26 (Read 240 times)