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Boston Celtics (6-2) at Charlotte Hornets (3-6)
Friday, November 6, 2026
7:00 PM ET
Regular Season Game #9 Road Game #4
Emirates NBA Cup Game #2
TV: NBCSB, WSOC TV64, NBA-LP
Radio: 98.5 Sports Hub, Sirius XM
Spectrum Center
Probable Celtics Starters PG
SG
SF
PF
C
PG: Derrick White
SG: Hugo Gonzalez
SF: Paul George
PF: Jayson Tatum
C: Neemias Queta
Celtics Reserves Chris Cenac, Jr
Mike Conley, Jr
Luka Garza
Jordan Walsh
Ron Harper, Jr
Sam Hauser
Baylor Scheierman
Mitchell Robinson
Two Way Players Devin Carter
Dillon Mitchell
Amari Williams
Injuries/Out Devin Carter (illness) out
Payton Pritchard (eye) questionable
Head CoachJoe Mazzulla
Probable Hornets Starters PG
SG
SF
PF
C
PG: Coby White
SG: Brandon Miller
SF: Sion James
PF: Naz Reid
C: Moussa Diabate
Hornets Reserves Royce O'Neale
Christian Anderson, Jr
Grayson Allen
Ryan Kalkbrenner
Hannes Steinbach
Tidjane Salaun
Liam McNeeley
2-Way Players Michael Ajayi
PJ Hall
Kylan Boswell
Injuries/Out Grant Williams (hamstring) out
Kon Knueppel (leg) out
Moussa Diabate (quad) questionable
Dennis Schroder (thigh) questionable
Head Coach Charles Lee
Game Notes The Celtics begin a 4 game road trip with a stop in Charlotte to take on the Hornets. This is the first of 4 games between these two teams this season. They will play again in Charlotte on February 4 and they will play twice in Boston on December 3 and January 23. The Celtics won the series 2-1 last season, winning one game in Boston and one in Charlotte and losing one game in Boston. The Celtics are 83-47 overall all time against the Hornets and they are 39-26 all time in Charlotte.
This is the second NBA Emirates Cup game for both teams. They are part of East Group C, which also includes Chicago, Atlanta and Washington. The Celtics beat Chicago in the first Cup game while the Hornets lost to the Wizards in their first game. The Celtics will visit Washington on November 24 and will host Atlanta on November 27 to complete group play. If they win the group, they will advance to the quarterfinals on December 4 and 5. The Semifinals are December 8 and 9. The Championship is December 11. The Celtics have only made it out of the group stage once, back in 2023.
The Celtics are 3rd in the East with just Philadelphia (8-1) and Detroit (6-2) ahead of them. The Hornets are 10th in the East, 5 games behind 1st place Philadelphia. Celtics are 5-0 at home and 1-2 on the road. The Hornets are 2-3 at home and 1-3 on the road. Their 2 wins at home were over Miami and Washington. They have lost their last 5 games.
The Hornets have several new players this season. They signed Coby White as a free agent. They got Naz Reid in a trade from Minnesota. They got Grayson Allen and Royce O'Neale in a trade from Phoenix. And, they got Dennis Schroder in a trade from the Wizards. They drafted Hannes Steinbach (14th) and Christian Anderson, Jr (18th). They also lost several players from last season. LaMelo Ball, Josh Green , Miles Bridges and Tre Mann were all traded. Antonio Reeves and Xavier Tillman both left as unsigned free agents.
After this game, the Celtics will continue their road trip through 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. Then it's home against Charlotte before a game at Brooklyn. They play 8 of 12 games on the road in the month of November.
After this game, Charlotte will play Cleveland at home before a 4 game road trip through Phoenix, LA Clippers, LA Lakers, and Atlanta. They they have a 4 game home stand against Memphis, Chicago, Brooklyn and Washington. Then they play at Boston before the NBA Cup tournament. Then they play at Washington before hosting Toronto, Clippers, OKC, Portland and Philadelphia.
The Celtics have been changing their starting lineup with Jordan Walsh, Hugo Gonzalez, Baylor Scheierman, and Neemias Queta getting starts along with Derrick White, Paul George, Jayson Tatum and Mitchell Robinson. The starting lineup is a work in progress for the Celtics and so it's hard to predict who Joe will go with from game to game. I'm just guessing that White, Gonzalez, George, Tatum and Queta will start. For the Hornets, I've listed the starters from their game notes which are Coby White, Brandon Miller, Sion James, Naz Reid and Moussa Diabate.
The Celtics still have Devin Carter 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. However, he is practicing with the Maine Celtics and should return soon. Payton Pritchard is listed as questionable with a right eye abrasion after getting hit in the face 3 times against the Bucks.
For the Hornets, Kon Knuepppel returned to the court for the first time this season on Wednesday but left after just 6 minutes and will be out for this game. Former Celtic Grant Williams is out with a hamstring injury. Dennis Schroder is questionable with a thigh injury. Moussa Diabate is questionable with a quad injury. I've listed him as the strarting center but if he can't play, Ryan Kalkbrenner will likely get the start.
Key Matchups vs
Hugo Gonzalez vs Brandon Miller
Miller is averaging 22.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.1 steals per game. He's shooting 35.9% from the field and 26.7% from beyond the arc. Although he is struggling from beyond the arc so far this season, he is capable of hitting threes and so the Celtics shouldn't leave him open or he could make them pay.
vs
Jayson Tatum vs Naz Reid
Reid is averaging 16.9 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game. He is shooting 42.3% from the field and 35.0% from beyond the arc. Jayson Tatum should be rested and ready to go in this game and needs to keep Reid out of the paint and off the boards.
Honorable Mention Sixth Man vs Grayson Allen
Allen is averaging 15.7 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game. He is shooting 47.1% from the field and 49.2% from beyond the arc. He is coming off a game where he shot 54.5% from the field and 71.4% from beyond the arc. The Celtics need to stay with him on defense, especially on the perimeter as he is the Hornets best 3 point shooter. Hopefully the 6th man will be Payton Pritchard. But, if he can't play, it could be any one of several players.
Keys to the GameDefense - Defense is always the key to winning. The Celtics are 7th the league with a defensive rating of 109.2. The Hornets are 18th in the league with a defensive rating of 112.7. The Hornets are 30th with an offensive rating of 101.5 while the Celtics are 8th with an offensive rating of 115.8. The Celtics are capable of playing lock down defense but there are times when they lose focus and allow their opponents to score way too easily, especially after building a big lead. They need to continue to make defense a priority and play lock down defense in this game for all 4 quarters.
Rebound - Rebounding is also a key to winning every game. It is important to give the Celtics extra possessions and to limit possessions for their opponents. Rebounding takes effort and the Celtics need to give extra effort to beat the Hornets to rebounds. The Celtics are 14th with 43.9 rebounds per game and the Hornets are 10th with 46.1 rebounds per game. The Hornets are 15th with 15.6 second chance points per game and the Celtics need to limit those for the Hornets by putting more effort into grabbing rebounds.
3 Point Shooting - The Celtics are 8th in the league, averaging 40.4 three pointers per game. The Hornets are 3rd, shooting 43.9 threes per game. The Celtics are shooting 35.3% as a team from beyond the arc (13th) while the Hornets are shooting 29.6% from beyond the arc (28th). The Celtics make 14.3 threes a gamem while the Hornets make 13.0 threes a game. The Celtics need to work to get open and move the ball to find the best shots. If the 3's aren't falling, they need to take the ball inside. And they need to defend the perimeter or the Hornets will bury them in threes.
Play Hard 48 Minutes - The Celtics need to start out strong and play hard to build a lead. They need to play hard throughout the game, with no let up. Often teams that hustle and play harder can beat teams that try to coast. The Celtics should not underestimate the Hornets and they need to be aggressive on the boards, on defense, in taking the ball to the hoop, in fighting for loose balls and just play harder overall throughout the game.
X-Factors On The Road - The Celtics are facing the distractions of travel and a hostile crowd and they can't allow those distractions to take away from their focus on the game. The Hornets are home with the home crowd behind them and their own familiar court. The Celtics are just beginning a 4 game road trip and are playing 8 of 12 games on the road this month. They are just 1-2 so far on the road and so they need to figure out winning on the road.
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. They have been especially calling flops and push offs and so the Celtics need to avoid doing both.
Topic: Celtics (6-2) at Hornets (3-6) Game #9 11/6/26 (Read 300 times)