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Boston Celtics (0-0) at Detroit Pistons (0-0)
Tuesday, October 20, 2026
3:00 PM ET
Regular Season Game #1, Road Game #1
TV: Peacock, NBC
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: Jordan Walsh
SF: Paul George
PF: Jayson Tatum
C: Mitchell Robinson
Celtics Reserves Chris Cenac, Jr
Mike Conley, Jr
Luka Garza
Hugo Gonzalez
Ron Harper, Jr
Sam Hauser
Payton Pritchard
Neemias Queta
Baylor Scheierman
Two Way Players Devin Carter
Dillon Mitchell
Amari Williams
Injuries/Out Devin Carter (illness) out
Head CoachJoe Mazzulla
Probable Pistons Starters PG
SG
SF
PF
C
PG: Cade Cunningham
SG: Duncan Robinson
SF: Ausar Thompson
PF: John Collins
C: Jalen Duren
Pistons Reserves Javonte Green
Ron Holland II
Kevin Huerter
Daniss Jenkins
Isaiah Joe
Chaz Lanier
Ebuka Okorie
Taurean Prince
Paul Reed
Tolu Smith
Two Way Players Elijah Harkless
Isaac Jones
Ugonna Onyenso
Injuries/Out Taurean Prince (personal) questionable
Head Coach JB Bickerstaff
Game Notes The Celtics and Pistons meet in a matinee game to begin the NBA season. This is the first time in 15 years that the NBA will feature more than two games on opening night. This is the first ever opening day triple header televised nationally. This game pits the 1st and 2nd seeds in the East from last season. The second game will feature the new look 76ers against the NBA champion Knicks. The final game of the night is between the two teams that fought for the Western Conference finals last season, OKC and San Antonio.
The Pistons are mostly the same team as last season. They swapped Tobias Harris for John Collins. They also signed Joe Harris .Both of these players will address their lack of 3 point shooting from last season. They also added Taurean Prince as a free agent. They drafted Ebuka Okorie with the 17th pick in the draft. They also added Elijah Harkless on a 2-way contract. They lost Isaiah Stewart, Caris LeVert and Tobias Harris.
The swap of Jaylen Brown for Paul George makes the Celtics a very different team from last season. They have Jayson Tatum back after missing most of last season with the torn Achilles. They added Mitchell Robinson, and Mike Conley as free agents. And they drafted Chris Cenac, Jr and Dillon Mitchell and signed Devin Carter as a 2-Way player. Their biggest weakness from last season was a weak center rotation, which they have addressed in the off season.
The Celtics went 4-0 in the preseason, winning with both starters, reserves and Exhibit 10 players. They beat Cleveland, Charlotte and Philadelphia twice. The Pistons went 3-1 in the preseason, beating Toronto, Minnesota and Phoenix and they lost to Washington. The Celtics are 253-144 overall, all time against the Pistons. They are 100-88 in games played in Detroit. These two teams will play 2 more times this season, December 12 at Boston and March 5 at Detroit.
After this game, the Celtics will play home games against New York, Chicago, Brooklyn and Chicago again. They will then play at Orlando and Houston and then home against Milwaukee before a road tripp takes them through Charlotte, Milwaukee, Philadelphia and Toronto. They play Dallas and Orlando at home before a West coast trip that takes them through Denver, Sacramento, Golden State, and Washington.
The Pistons will play at Miami, Philadelphia, and New York before a home game against Charlotte. Then it's on the road at Brooklyn and Charlotte and back home to face Philadelphia, the Lakers, and Washington. Then they play at Washington, Miami, San Antonio, and New Orleans. Then it's one game at home against Toronto and then at Atlanta and Orlando.
The Pistons starting lineup is pretty much set and will be the same starters that they used last year, with the exception of John Collins in place of Tobias Harris. I'm going to guess that the Celtics will definitely start Derrick White, Paul George and Jayson Tatum. The starting center could go to Neemias Queta, who was one of the best defensive centers in the league last season, or it could go to Mitchell Robinson.
The 5th starter could be Jordan Walsh, who started 3 of the 4 games in the preseason. Or, there could be a good argument for starting Baylor Scheierman, Hugo Gonzalez,Payton Pritchard, or Ron Harper, Jr. All these young players have shown in the preseason that they are ready to play and have improved over the off season. Or, Sam Hauser may get the start as the more experienced player.
Both teams are mostly healthy for their first regular season game. The Celtics have only Devin Carter listed as out with an illness. After missing the final 3 games of the preseason, Carter was diagnosed with mononucleosis and is without a timetable for a return. The Pistons list only Taurean Prince listed as questionable due to a personal matter.
Key Matchups vs
Derrick White vs Cade Cunninghom
Cunningham is a 2-time All Star and an All NBA first team selection. He is considered to be an MVP candidate this season. in his career against the Celtics, he averaged 23.1 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 8.0 assists per game. He scored 42 points in an MVP cup game last season against the Celtics. Derrick White will hopefully find his shot this season and also between him and Jordan Walsh, they should be able to slow Cunningham's offense somewhat.
vs
Jayson Tatum vs John Collins
Collins is the Pistons' major addition this season. Over his career against the Celtics he has averaged 16.1 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game. He will help the Pistons address their 3 point shooting weakness from last season as he shot 40.6% from beyond the arc for the Clippers last season. Jayson Tatum appears to be fully healthy after missing most of last season due to an Achilles tear. This should be a fun matchup to watch.
Honorable Mention Mitchell Robinson vs Jalen Duren
Duren had a very good regular season last year, but he struggled in the playoffs. He spent much of training camp negotiating a new $200 million contract. Over his career against the Celtics, he averaged 10.5 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game. I'm not sure whether Joe will decide to start Robinson or Queta, but either one should be able to make things difficult for Duren.
Keys to the Game Defense - As always, defense is the key to winning this, and every, game. In the preseason, the Celtics were tops in the league with a defensive rating of 98.6. The Pistons were 6th with a defensive rating of 105.9. In last regular season, the Pistons were 2nd with a defensive rating of 108.9 while the Celtics were 4th with a defensive rating of 111.7. This should be a battle between 2 defensive minded teams. The Celtics need to keep their defensive mindset in the regular season and make defense their priority.
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. In the preseason, the Celtics were 1st with 55 rebounds per game and 3rd with 16.8 offensive rebounds per game.
The Pistons were 23rd with 41.5 rebounds per game and 10th with 13.8 offensive rebounds per game. Queta and Robinson are 2 of the best rebounders in the league and should help the Celtics to excel in this area.
Move the Ball Carefully - The Celtics need to move the ball to get the best shots. The Celtics are much better when they move the ball and don't lapse into iso ball. hopefully this season we will see much less iso ball than in the past. But, they 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. The Pistons were first in the league in the preseason with 28.3 points off turnovers so the Celtics need to be careful with the ball or the Pistons will make them pay.
3 Point Shooting - We know that the Celtics love to shoot the three. They were 2nd in the preseason, shooting 47 per game. The Pistons were 23rd, shooting 35.8 per game. The Celtics were 18th, shooting 35.6% from beyond the arc. The Pistons were 22nd, shooting 35% from beyond the arc. The Pistons brought in two 40+% three point shooters to help them in this area and are expected to improve in this area this season.
X-Factors Matinee on the Road - Playing an early game on the road for the first game of the season has to be tough. The Celtics need to play with effort and energy and be the team that plays the hardest. They also need to use the hostile crowd as motivation to play even harder. The vets need to keep the young guys on track and not let the distractions of playing on the road side track them.
Officiating - Officiating is always an x-factor in every game. Every crew officiates differently. Some call it tight, others let them play. 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 from playing the game. The Celtics also have to be aware of the new points of emphasis for this season and try to avoid flopping, off‑arm push‑offs, reckless closeouts, delays before free throws, and illegal screens.
Topic: Celtics (0-0) at Pistons (0-0) Game #1 10/20/26 (Read 1520 times)