at 
Boston Celtics (4-1)  at  Orlando Magic (2-3)
Sunday,  November 1, 2026
2:30 PM ET
Regular Season Game #6 Road Game #2
TV:  NBCSB, DAZN, NBA-LP
Radio: Sirius XM, 98.5 Sports Hub, 96.9 The Game
Kia Center


Probable Celtics Starters
PG SG SFPF 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
Mitchell Robinson (rest) questionable

Head Coach
Joe Mazzulla

Probable Magic Starters
PGSGSFPFC
PG:  Jase Richardson
SG:  Desmond Bane
SF:   Anthony Black
PF:   Franz Wagner
C:    Wendell Carter, Jr

Magic Reserves
Goga Bitadze
Jamal Cain
Jevon Carter
Tristan da Silva
Nikola Vucevic

Two-Way Players
Colin Castleton
Alex Morales
Izaiyah Nelson

Injuries/Out
Paolo Banchero (ankle) out
Jonathan Isaac (knee) out
Izaiyah Nelson (ankle) out
Noah Penda (hamstring) out
Jalen Suggs (knee) out

Head Coach
Sean Sweeney

Game Notes
The Celtics look for their 5th straight win as they take on the Magic in Orlando.  This is the first of 2 back to back road games. The Celtics will play at Houston on Monday.  This is their 2nd back to back set this season and their first on the road. They won both legs of their first back to back.  This is also the first of back to back games for the Magic who will host Washington on Monday. 

The Celtics were 3-1 last year against the Magic.  They lost one game in Orlando and won one in Orlando and two in Boston.  This is the first of 4 games between these two teams this season.  They will play in Boston on November 16 and March 18.  They will play again in Orlando on April 7.  The Celtics are 79-58 overall all time against the Magic and they are 27-40 in games played in Orlando. 

The Magic have made a few changes since last season.  Their biggest move was to fire coach Jamahl Mosley and hire former Spurs assistant, Sean Sweeney, as head coach.  They also added former Celtic Nikola Vucevic to a 1 year minimum contract.  They drafted Izaiyah Nelson with the 51st pick in the draft and signed him to a 2-Way contract.  They lost Moritz Wagner and Jett Howard. 

After this game, the Celtics will play at Houston in back to back games. They will then play at home against Milwaukee before a road trip that will take 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.  They then play one game at home against Atlanta before playing at San Antonio and Dallas.

The Magic will also play back to back as they host Washington.  They then play at Phoenix, Golden State, Sacramento and Utah.  They then have one game at home against Milwaukee before playing at Boston.  Then they host Philadelphia before they play at Brooklyn, and Washington.  Then it's one game at home against Detroit before a road trip through Washington, Detroit, and Dallas takes them to the NBA Cup tournament. 

The Celtics have started Derrick White, Jordan Walsh, Paul George, Jayson Tatum and Mitchell Robinson in every game so far and I have once again listed the same starters for this game.   Mitchell Robinson is listed as questionable for rest so the starting center may change.   I've listed the Magic starters from their last game, which are Jase Richardson, Desmond Bane, Anthony Black, Franz Wagner, and Wendall Carter, Jr. 

For the Celtics, Devin Carter remains on the injury report due to illness.  After missing the final 3 games of the preseason, Carter was diagnosed with mononucleosis and is without a timetable for a return.  Mitchell Robinson has been added as questionable due to rest in the first of back to back games.  For the Magic, Paolo Banchero (ankle), Jonathan Isaac (knee), Izaiyah Nelson (ankle), Noah Penda (hamstring) and Jalen Suggs (knee) are all out. 

Key Matchups
vs
Jayson Tatum vs Franz Wagner
Wagner is leading the Magic with 20.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 1.0 steals per game.  He is shooting 43.0% from the field and 18.5% from beyond the arc.  He has been struggling from the perimeter but the Celtics shouldn't understimate him and leave him open since he shot 34.5% from three last season.   The Celtics need to defend him for both the shot and the pass. 

vs
Jordan Walsh vs Desmond Bane
Bane is averaging 17.2 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 4.0 assists.  He is shooting 33.8% from the field and 33.3% from beyond the arc. He is capable of putting up big numbers if not defended well.  In a game against the Celtics last season, he finished with 22 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocks while shooting 53.3% from the field and 40% from beyond the arc. 
As with Wagner, the Celtics need to defend him well. 

Honorable Mention
Mitchell Robinson vs Wendell Carter, Jr.
Carter is averaging 14.8 points, 8.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 1.2 steals per game.  He is shooting 65.0% from the field and 38.5% from beyond the arc.  The Celtics need to defend him both in the paint and on the perimeter as he is shooting well from both.  Since Robinson is listed as questionable for rest, he may or may not start here.  We may see Queta or Garza, or even Cenac getting the start. 

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 Celtics are 10th in the league with a 108.1 defensive rating.  The Magic are 25th with a defensive rating of 117.0.  The Celtics need to continue to play tough defense and make that their identity and 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. So far in the regular season, they are 19th in rebounding with 43.6 rebounds per game and 13th with 12.2 offensive rebounds per game.  The Magic are 29th with 39.4 rebounds per game.  The Celtics are 23rd in the league with 13.8 second chance points per game.  The Celtics need to be aggressive on the boards and win the rebounding battle. 

Effort and Focus for 48 Minutes- The Celtics have to play with extra effort overall for all 4 quarters. In the first half against the Bulls, the Celtics played hard and stayed focused, taking care of the ball and taking and making good shots.  In the second half, the Bulls were the team that played harder and the Celtics lost focus on both ends of the court, allowing the Bulls to cut a 29 point lead to 14.  The Celtics have to play hard and stay focused for all 48 minutes. 

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.  But, they have to be careful with the ball and avoid turnovers.  The Celtics are 14th with 15.8 turnovers per game.  That is too many.  The Magic are averaging 15.6 points off turnovers per game.  The Celtics need to make the extra pass to find the best shot but they also need to stay focused and make careful passes.

X-Factors
Road Game - The Celtics are playing on the road.  They are facing distractions of travel and playing in an unfamiliar arena in front of hostile fans.  Although, there is often a large contingent of Celtics fans in the arena.  They need to shake off those distractions and keep their focus on playing the game.  Young players often struggle more on the road and so the young Celtics have to stay focused and try to ignore the distractions.

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  off‑arm push‑offs, reckless closeouts, delays before free throws illegal screens and especially flopping.  Paul George was already fined for a flop in the first game and there have been several other flopping calls as well.