Boston Celtics (49-24) at Charlotte Hornets (39-34)
Sunday, March 29, 2026
6:00 PM ET
Regular Season Game #74 Road Game #37
TV: NBCSB, FDSN, NBA-LP
Radio: Sirius XM, 98.5 Sports Hub, WFNZ 92.7
Spectrum Center
The Celtics visit the Charlotte Hornets for the 2nd of 3 meetings this season. The Hornets won the first game 118-89 in Boston on March 4. They will meet for the final time in Boston on April 7. The Celtics are 81-47 overall all time against Charlotte and they are 38-26 in games played on the road.
The Hornets are playing on the second night of back to back games after hosting Philadelphia on Saturday night. They are 10-4 in the second of back to back games. The Celtics are playing in the first of back to back games and will play at Atlanta on Monday.
The Hornets are one of the hottest teams in the league right now. Since January 1, Charlotte has a 28-12 record and they own the #1 net rating in the NBA at 11.5. Over that span, Charlotte’s offense ranks #1 in the NBA with an offensive rating of 121.1 and their defense ranks #6 with a defensive rating of 109.5. The Hornets also rank #1 in rebounding percentage (55.2%) and in second-chance points (18.9) per game since Jan. 1. Charlotte’s starting lineup has the highest point differential (+30.4) of any five-man lineup in the NBA.
The Celtics are 2nd in the East, 4.5 games behind 1st place Detroit. They are 1.5 games ahead of 3rd place New York, 3.5 games ahead of 4th place Cleveland, 8 games ahead of 5th place Toronto, 8.5 games ahead of 6th place Atlanta, and 7th place Philadelphia. The Celtics are 30-14 against Eastern Conference opponents. They are 23-13 on the road and 7-3 in their last 10 games. They have won their last 2 games.
The Hornets are 10th in the East, 15 games behind 1st place Detroit, 2 games behind 6th place Atlanta and 7th place Philadelphia, and they are half a game behind 8th place Orlando and 9th place Miami. They are 9.5 games ahead of 11th place Milwaukee. They are 23-22 against Eastern Conference opponents. They are 19-17 at home and 7-3 in their last 10 games. After winning 5 straight games, they lost their last game to the 76ers.
After completing a 3 game home stand, The Celtics are on the road for a 4 game trip that begins with this game in Charlotte and will go through 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.
This game is the 7th and final game of a 7 game home stand for Charlotte. After this game they will hit the road for one game at Brooklyn before returning home to host Phoenix and Indiana. Then they are on the road once again to play at Minnesota and the final game against the Celtics at Boston. Next they have one game at home against Detroit and will finish the season at New York.
For the Celtics, Nicola Vucevic remains out after surgery to stabilize a fracture in his right ring finger. After starting on Friday’s injury report but playing in the game, Derrick White (knee) is questionable and Neemias Queta (thumb) is probable for this game. Jayson Tatum is available after originally being listed as questionable for injury management. Jaylen Brown is out once again after missing Friday’s game due to tendinitis in his left Achilles.
I am guessing that Baylor Scheierman will start in place of Jaylen Brown once again. Since Tatum is playing in this game he will likely sit out Monday’s game. Since Derrick White remains questionable and a game time decision, I’ve left him in the starters. If he doesn’t play, I’m guessing that Payton Pritchard will start in his place. For Charlotte, Tidjaane Salaun (calf) listed as out and Grant Williams is listed as out due to an illness.
Probable Starting Matchups
PG: Derrick White vs LaMelo Ball
SG: Baylor Scheierman vs Brandon Miller
SF: Sam Hauser vs Kon Knueppel
PF: Jayson Tatum vs Miles Bridges
C: Neemias Queta vs Moussa Diabate
Celtics Reserves
Payton Pritchard
Hugo Gonzalez
Luka Garza
Amare Williams
Jordan Walsh
Baylor Scheierman
Max Shulga
Charles Bassey (10-Day)
2-Way Players
Ron Harper, Jr
Injuries/Out
Nikola Vucevic (finger) out
Neemias Queta (thumb) probable
Derrick White (knee) questionable
Jaylen Brown (Achilles) out
Jayson Tatum (Achilles) available
Head Coach
Joe Mazzulla
Hornets Reserves
Sion James
Josh Green
Ryan Kalkbrenner
Pat Connaughton
Tre Mann
Liam McNeeley
Coby White
2-Way Players
Tosan Evbuomwan
Antonio Reeves
PJ Hall
Injuries/Out
Tidjane Salaun (calf) out
Grant Williams (illness) out
Head Coach
Charles Lee
Key Matchups
Jaylen Brown vs Brandon Miller
Miller is averaging 20.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.1 steals per game. He’s shooting 43.3% from the field and 38.8% from beyond the arc. In the first game against the Celtics, he finished with 18 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 steals while shooting 61.5% from the field and 40% from beyond the arc. He is a good 3 point shooter and so the Celtics have to stay with him on the perimeter.
Derrick White vs LaMelo Ball
Ball is averaging 19.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, 7.1 assists, and 1.2 steals per game. He is shooting 40.7% from the field and 37.0% from beyond the arc. In the first game against the Celtics, he finished with 18 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists while shooting 41.2% from the field and 40.0% from beyond the arc. He is quick and always a threat to steal the ball.
Honorable Mention
Sam Hauser vs Kon Knueppel
Knueppel is averaging 19.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game. He is shooting 48.9% from the field and 43.8% from beyond the arc. In the first game against the Celtics, he finished with 20 points, 4 rebounds, and 1 block while shooting 50% from the field and 50% from beyond the arc. He leads the league in 3 pointers made with 253.
Keys to the Game
Defense – Defense is always the key to winning. The Celtics are 4th the league with a defensive rating of 111.5. The Hornets are 12th in the league with a defensive rating of 113.5. The Hornets are 5th with an offensive rating of 118.3 while the Celtics are 2nd with an offensive rating of 119.3. 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. They need to continue to make defense a priority and play lock down defense in this game against a very good offensive team.
Rebound – Rebounding 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 4th with 46.5 rebounds per game and the Hornets are 5th with 46.2 rebounds per game. The Hornets are 2nd with 17.6 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 3rd in the league, averaging 42.2 three pointers per game. The Hornets are 2nd, shooting 42.8 threes per game. The Celtics are shooting 36.1% as a team from beyond the arc (11th) while the Hornets are shooting 38.2% from beyond the arc (3rd). The Celtics make 15.2 threes a game (3rd) while the Hornets make 16.3 thees a game (1st). 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. In the Celtics March 4 loss to the Hornets, the Celtics shot just 27.8% on 3’s while allowing the Hornets to shoot 38.8% from beyond the arc. They have to do better both on offense and defense in this game if they hope to win.
Move the Ball – 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 30-0 when they have more assists than their opponent but just 17-22 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 in the first game between these two teams, the Celtics turned the ball over 15 times and they have to do better this time.
X-Factors
On The Road and Fatigue – 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 finishing up a 7 game home stand so no travel for them for quite a while. However, they are playing on the second night of back to back games. They are very good in back to back games, going 10-4 this season, but fatigue could affect them down the stretch,.
Injuries – The Celtics have 4 of their 5 starters listed on the injury report. It goes without saying that with even one of them out, it would make this game tougher. With the Celtics playing in another game on Monday, it is likely that one, or more, will sit out this game. With one and a half game lead on the Knicks, who are playing in OKC, the Celtics can afford to be cautious with their stars and rest them for one of the back to back games.
Officiating – Officiating is always an x-factor. Every crew calls the game differently. Some call it tight and call every bit of contact while others allow more physical play. Some favor the home team while others call both sides evenly. The Celtics have to adjust to the way the refs are calling the game and not allow no calls and bad calls to affect their focus on playing the game.
