Charlotte Hornets (43-36) at Boston Celtics (53-25)
Tuesday, April 7, 2026
8:00 PM ET
Regular Season Game #79 Home Game #39
TV: NBC/Peacock, NBCSB, FDSN
Radio: 98.5 Sports Hub, 92.7 WFNZ-FM, Sirius XM
TD Garden
In another game that could be a first round preview, the Celtics host the Charlotte Hornets. The teams in the 6th through 10th spots are all separated by just 2 games. With each of these teams having 3 or 4 games left to play, every game is important for the final seeding. The Hornets are going
to want to win so as not to drop into the 9th or 10th spot, which will require 2 wins rather than 1 in order to make the playoffs.
This is the 3rd, and final, game between these 2 teams. The Hornets won the first game between these two teams 118-89 in Boston on March 4. The Celtics evened the series with a 114-99 win in Charlotte on March 29. The Celtics are 82-47 overall all time against Charlotte and they are 43-21 in games played in Boston. The Celtics won the series last season, winning all 4 games.
The Celtics are 2nd in the East, 3.5 games behind 1st place Detroit. They are 2.5 games ahead of 3rd place New York, 3.5 games ahead of 4th place Cleveland, 8.5 games ahead of 5th place Atlanta, and 10 games ahead of 6th place Toronto and 10.5 games ahead of 7th place Philadelphia. The Celtics are 34-15 against Eastern Conference opponents. They are 27-11 at home and 8-2 in their last 10 games. They have won their last 3 games.
The Hornets are 8th in the East, 7 games behind 4th place Cleveland, 2 games behind 5th place Atlanta, and half a game behind 6th place Toronto. They are tied with 7th place Philadelphia, and 9th place Orlando and 1.5 games ahead of 10th place Miami. They are 25-24 against Eastern Conference opponents. They are 22-17 on the road and 8-2 in their last 10 games. They have won their last 4 games.
After this game at home against Charlotte, the Celtics will play one game on the road at New York and then host New Orleans in back to back games. They will finish the season by hosting Orlando. After this game at Boston, Charlotte has just 2 more games to play. They will then host Detroit before taking on the Knicks at New York.
The Celtics have a clear injury list for the first time in a long time. Nikola Vucevic returned on Sunday after missing 4 weeks due to finger surgery. The Hornets are close to full strength as well. Two-way player, PJ Hall is out due to an ankle injury. Coby White is listed as probable due to left groin soreness.
Probable Starting Matchups
PG: Derrick White vs LaMelo Ball
SG: Jaylen Brown 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
Nikola Vucevic
Ron Harper, Jr
2-Way Players
None
Injuries/Out
None
Head Coach
Joe Mazzulla
Hornets Reserves
Grant Williams
Sion James
Josh Green
Ryan Kalkbrenner
Pat Connaughton
Tre Mann
Liam McNeeley
Coby White
Tidjane Salaun
2-Way Players
Tosan Evbuomwan
Antonio Reeves
PJ Hall
Injuries/Out
PJ Hall (ankle) out
Coby White (groin) probable
Head Coach
Charles Lee
Key Matchups
Jaylen Brown vs Brandon Miller
Miller is averaging 20.2 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.0 steals per game. He’s shooting 48.1% from the field and 43.0% from beyond the arc. In the first 2 games against the Celtics, he averaged 15.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1.5 steals while shooting 50% from the field and 35.7% 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 19.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, 7.2 assists, and 1.2 steals per game. He is shooting 40.6% from the field and 36.8% from beyond the arc. In the first 2 games against the Celtics, he averaged 18.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists while shooting 38.9% from the field and 31.8% from beyond the arc. He is 2nd in the league with 255 total 3 pointers this season and is always a threat from the perimeter. He is quick and always a threat to steal the ball.
Honorable Mention
Sam Hauser vs Kon Knueppel
Knueppel is averaging 18.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game. He is shooting 48.9% from the field and 43.8% from beyond the arc. In the first 2 games against the Celtics, he averaged 16.5 points, 4 rebounds, and 1 assist while shooting 44.4% from the field and 36.7% from beyond the arc. He leads the league in 3 pointers made with 265. The Celtics have to stay with him on the perimeter.
Keys to the Game
Defense – Defense is always the key to winning. The Celtics are 4th the league with a defensive rating of 111.7. The Hornets are 12th in the league with a defensive rating of 113.4. The Hornets are 4th with an offensive rating of 118.7 while the Celtics are 2nd with an offensive rating of 119.9. 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 tough 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 17.8 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 4th in the league, averaging 41.8 three pointers per game. The Hornets are 2nd, shooting 43.1 threes per game. The Celtics are shooting 36.4% as a team from beyond the arc (9th) while the Hornets are shooting 38.1% from beyond the arc (3rd). The Celtics make 15.2 threes a game (3rd) while the Hornets make 16.4 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. In their March 29 win, the Celtics shot 41.2% from beyond the arc while holding the Hornets to just 27.9%. The Celtics need to stay focused on offense and play tough defense in order to win this game.
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 18-23 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 their loss to the Hornets, the Celtics turned the ball over 15 times but in their win, they turned it over just 5 times.
X-Factors
Home Game and Motivation – The Celtics need to feed off the energy of the crowd and hopefully, the Hornets will be distracted by travel and the hostile crowd. The Celtics should protect their home court and play harder because of it. Both teams are playing for their seeding in the playoffs. The Celtics need to win to guarantee the 2nd seed. The Hornets are playing to stay in the 7th or 8th spot and avoid having to win 2 games to make the 8th seed. They are going to be very motivated to win and the Celtics have to be focused and play with extra effort to get the win.
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.
