New Orleans Pelicans (26-54) at Boston Celtics (54-25)
Friday, April 10, 2026
7::30 PM ET
Regular Season Game #81 Home Game #40
TV: NBCSB, GCSEN, NBA- LP
Radio: 98.5 The Sports Hub , WWL 870 AM, Sirius XM
TD Garden
The Celtics host the New Orleans Pelicans as the season winds down. This is the 2nd, and final, game between these two teams this season. The Celtics won the first game 122-90 in New Orleans on October 27. The Celtics are 29-21 overall all time against the Pelicans and they are 16-8 in games
played in Boston. The Celtics won the series 2-0 last season.
The Pelicans last played on Tuesday while the Celtics are playing in the second of back to back games. The Celtics are 7-5 in games played on the second night of back to back games. Both teams have one more game to finish the season. The Pelicans will play at Minnesota while the Celtics will host the Orlando Magic.
The Pelicans made a minor deal at the trade deadline. They traded Jose Alvarado to the New York Knicks for Dalen Terry, 2 second round picks and cash considerations. They then waived Terry. They also converted two way player Bryce McGowans to a contract with the Pelicans main team. They then signed Josh Oduro to a 2-Way contract.
The Celtics are 2nd in the East, 4 games behind 1st place Detroit. They are 2 games ahead of 3rd place New York, 3 games ahead of 4th place Cleveland, 9 games ahead of 5th place Toronto and 6th place Atlanta and 10 games ahead of 7th place Orlando. The Celtics are 19-10 against Western Conference opponents. They are 28-11 at home and 7-3 in their last 10 games. They are coming off a loss in their last game.
The Pelicans are 11th in the West, 15 games behind the 8th place Clippers, 14 games behind 9th place Portland, and 11.5 games behind Golden State. They are 1 game ahead of 12th place Memphis, and 13th place Dallas and 5 games ahead of 14th place Sacramento. They are 9-21 against Eastern Conference opponents. They are 9-30 on the road and 2-8 in their last 10 games. They are coming off a win in their last game.
It’s hard to say who will actually play in this game. The Celtics listed Derrick White (knee), Neemias Queta (toe), and Sam Hauser (back) as questionable for Thursday’s game. Hauser, White and Queta played while Brown was out. White, Hauser and Queta are listed as probable for this game. Jaylen Brown (Achilles) is listed as questionable. Jayson Tatum played on Thursday and is out for this game since it is back to back.
The Pelicans have 8 players out. Yves Missi (hand), Zion Williamson (knee), Dejounte Murray (hand), Bryce McGowans (toe), and Trey Murphy III (ankle), Herb Jones (rest), Saddiq Bey (rest), and Karlo Matkovic (back)are all listed as out. It doesn’t seem to me that players who haven’t played since Tuesday and won’t play beyond the end of the season really need rest. But, that’s just me. I just guessed at their starters.
Probable Starting Matchups
PG: Derrick White vs Jeremiah Fears
SG: Jaylen Brown vs Jordan Poole
SF: Sam Hauser vs Micah Peavy
PF: Jordan Walsh vs Derik Queen
C: Neemias Queta vs Kevon Looney
Celtics Reserves
Payton Pritchard
Hugo Gonzalez
Luka Garza
Amare Williams
Baylor Scheierman
Max Shulga
Nikola Vucevic
Ron Harper, Jr
2-Way Players
None
Injuries/Out
Derrick White (knee) probable
Neemias Queta (toe) probable
Sam Hauser (back) probable
Jaylen Brown (Achilles) questionable
Jayson Tatum (injury management) out
Head Coach
Joe Mazzulla
Pelicans Reserves
Jordan Hawkins
DeAndre Jordan
2-Way Players
Trey Alexander
Hunter Dickenson
Josh Oduro
Injuries/Out
Zion Williamson (knee) out
Dejounte Murray (hand) out
Bryce McGowans (toe) out
Trey Murphy III (ankle) out
Yves Missi (hand) out
Herb Jones (rest) out
Karlo Matkovic (back) out
Saddiq Bey (rest) out
Head Coach
James Borrego (interim)
Key Matchups
Jaylen Brown vs Jordan Poole
Poole is averaging 13.5 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 3.1 assists while shooting 37.3% from the field and 33.2% from the field. In the first game against the Celtics he finished with 22 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 steal while shooting 35.7% from the field and 37.5% from beyond the arc. It will be crucial for the Celtics to defend him well and keep him from having a big game.
Derrick White vs Jeremiah Fears
Fears is averaging 13.7 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.2 steals per game. He is shooting 43.4% from the field and 33.7% from beyond the arc. In the first game against the Celtics, he finished with 2 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal while shooting 9.1% from the field with no threes. Fears is coming off a game against the Jazz where he finished with 40 points, 6 assists and 3 steals. The Celtics need to defend him as he is capable of a big game.
Honorable Mention
Jordan Walsh vs Derik Queen
Queen is averaging 11.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1 steal per game. He is shooting 47.3% from the field and 26.2% from beyond the arc. In the first game against the Celtics, he finished with 12 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 steal while shooting 42.9% from the field with no 3 pointers.
Keys to the Game
Defense – Defense will always be the key to winning. The Pelicans have an offensive rating of 113.2 (20th) while the Celtics have an offensive rating of 119.9 (2nd). The Celtics are 4th in the league with a defensive rating of 111.7. The Pelicans are 22nd with a defensive rating of 117.3 (22nd). The Celtics allowed the Knicks to shoot 53.8% from the field and 42.9% from beyond the arc. They were lax on defense and that cost them the game. They have to play tough lock down defense for all 48 minutes if they want to win this, or any other, game. The Celtics need to especially guard the paint since the Pelicans are 2nd in the league with 57.6 points in the paint per game.
Rebound – The Celtics have to crash the boards as a team. Rebounding takes effort and when they put that extra effort out to dominate the boards, it often translates to all other areas of the game as well. The Pelicans are averaging 43.8 rebounds (14th) and the Celtics are averaging 46.5 rebounds per game (4th). The Celtics need the ball to score and the best way to get the ball is to grab rebounds on both ends of the court.
Move the Ball Carefully– The Celtics are tough to beat when they keep the ball moving and find the open man but when one player over dribbles and lapses into hero ball, they falter. The Celtics are 33-0 when they have more assists than their opponent but just 19-24 when they have fewer assists than their opponent. Keep the ball moving and don’t lapse into hero ball, whether in the first quarter or the 4th quarter. They have to make careful passes and not turn the ball over because the Pelicans average 18.0 points off turnovers per game.
Don’t Underestimate – After a tough game against the Knicks, it would be easy for the Celtics to expect an easy game against the Pelicans, who have nothing to play for except a lottery pick. NBA players have pride and are going to play hard and try to win, even if their leadership may want to tank. The Celtics have to play hard and be aggressive and not let up. The last team can easily beat the top team if that top team is not giving their full effort. The Celtics have to give their full effort from start to finish.
X-Factors
Back to Back at Home – The Celtics are at home after playing on the road the night before. The Pelicans haven’t played since Tuesday and should be rested. The Pelicans have struggled on the road this season with an 9-30 record away from home. Hopefully the Celtics will come out ready to play and get some motivation from the home crowd. Protect home court.
Who’s Playing? – It’s fairly certain that Jayson Tatum will be out but as of now, I’m not sure who else will be out for the Celtics. They may decide to rest some players and that means that those who play will have to play even harder. The Pelicans have at least 5 players out and possibly as many as 8 out. Sometimes very short handed teams are like a wounded animal and play even harder.
Officiating – Officiating always has the possibility to be an x-factor. Every crew calls the game differently. Some call every bit of contact while some let them play. Some favor the home team and some call it evenly and some are just bad. Hopefully the Celtics get a crew that calls it even and lets both teams play. However the game is called, they need to focus on the game and not allow bad or no calls to take that focus away.
