Boston Celtics (37-19) at Phoenix Suns (33-25)
Tuesday, February 24, 2026
9:00 PM ET
Regular Season Game #57, Road Game #30
TV: ESPN, NBCSB, 3TV
Radio: 98.5 Sports Hub, 98.7 AZ Sports Radio, Sirius XM
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The Celtics continue their western road trip with a stop in Phoenix to take on the Suns. They won the first 2 games of the trip by beating the Warriors and the Lakers. They will face the Nuggets on Wednesday to close out the trip. This is the first of 2 games between these two
teams this season. They will meet for the 2nd, and final, time on March 16.
The Celtics won the series 2-0 last season and have won 4 straight against the Suns. They are 79-60 overall all time against the Suns and they are 33-36 in games played in Phoenix. The Celtics are playing in the first of back to back games and will travel to Denver to complete the back to back set on Wednesday. The Celtics are 6-3 in the first of back to back games this season.
Like the Celtics, the Suns have changed quite a bit since last season. In the offseason, they traded Kevin Durant to Houston for Dillon Brooks and Jalen Green. They traded Vasilije Micic to Charlotte for Mark Williams. They claimed Jordan Goodwin off waivers from the Lakers. They bought out Bradley Beal. and they drafted Khaman Maluach (10th), Rasheer Fleming (31st) and Koby Brea (41st. Tyus Jones and Mason Plumlee both left in free agency. At the trade deadline, they traded Nigel Hayes-Davis and Nick Richards for Amir Coffey and Cole Anthony.
The Celtics are 2nd in the East, 5 games behind 1st place Detroit. They are 1 game ahead of 3rd place New York, 2 games ahead of 4th place Cleveland, 3.5 games ahead of 5th place Toronto, 6.5 games ahead of 6th place Philadelphia and 7 games ahead of 7th place Orlando. The Celtics are 13-6 against Western Conference opponents. They are 19-10 on the road and 8-2 in their last 10 games. They have won their last 3 games.
The Suns are 7th in the West, 11 games behind 1st place OKC, 3 games behind 3rd place Denver, 2.5 games behind 4th place Houston, and 2 games behind the 5th place Lakers and 6th place Minnesota. They are 2.5 games ahead of 8th place Golden Stat and 5 games ahead of 9th place Portland. The Suns are 11-7 against Eastern Conference opponents and 19-11 at home. They are 4-6 in their last 10 games and are coming off a loss in their last game.
The Celtics are playing in the 3rd game of a 4 game Western road trip. They beat Golden State 121-110 on Thursday and beat the Lakers 111-89 on Sunday. They will play Denver on Wednesday to close out the trip. They will then return home for games against Brooklyn and Philadelphia before a game at Milwaukee. Then they are back home for games against Charlotte and Dallas before a tough 3 game road trip through Cleveland, San Antonio, and Oklahoma City. Then they host Washington, Phoenix and Golden State.
The Suns are playing in the 3rd game of a 4 game home stand. They beat Orlando and lost to Portland in the first two games and will face the Lakers to close out the home stand. They will then play at Sacramento before three more games at home against Chicago, New Orleans and Charlotte. They will then head out on a 6 game road trip through Milwaukee, Indiana, Toronto, Boston, Minnesota and San Antonio.
Jayson Tatum remains out for the Celtics as he rehabs from the Achilles injury, although rumblings of his return seem to be getting louder. Jaylen Brown has been added to the injury report with a knee contusion. They may be cautious with him due to the back to back games with Denver being the tougher team. He was originally questionable but has been downgraded to out. I’m going to take a wild guess that Hugo Gonzalez starts but I’m usually wrong.
The Suns have 5 players out and one player questionable on their injury report. Grayson Allen is questionable due to right knee and ankle injury management. He will be a game time decision. Cole Anthony has not reported to the team as yet after his trade from Orlando. Devin Booker (hip), Dillon Brooks (hand), Jordan Goodwin (calf) and Haywood Highsmith (knee) are all listed as out. I’ve listed their starting lineup from their last game.
Probable Starting Matchups
PG: Derrick White vs Collin Gillespie
SG: Baylor Scheierman vs Jalen Green
SF: Hugo Gonzalez vs Ryan Dunn
Sam Hauser vs Royce O’Neale
C: Neemias Queta vs Mark Williams
Celtics Reserves
Payton Pritchard
Luka Garza
Amare Williams
Nikola Vucevic
Jordan Walsh
Delano Banton (10-day)
John Tonje (10-day)
2-Way Players
Ron Harper, Jr
Max Shulga
Injuries/Out
Jayson Tatum (Achilles) out
Jaylen Brown (knee) out
Head Coach
Joe Mazzulla
Suns Reserves
Amir Coffey
Rasheer Fleming
Oso Ighodaro
Khaman Maluach
2-Way Players
Jamaree Bouyea
Koby Brea
Isaiah Livers
Injuries/Out
Grayson Allen (ankle) questionable
Cole Anthony (not with team) out
Devin Booker (hip) out
Dillon Brooks (hand) out
Jordan Goodwin (calf) out
Haywood Highsmith (knee) out
Head Coach
Jordan Ott
Key Matchups
Derrick White vs Collin Gillespie
Gillespie is averaging 13.4 points, 4.1 rebounds, 4.7 assists,and 1.4 steals per game. He is shooting 42.9% from the field and 42.8% from beyond the arc. He is one of their best 3 point shooters and so the Celtics need to especially defend him on the perimeter.
Baylor Scheierman vs Jalen Green
Green is averaging 13.3 points, 2.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.2 steals per game. He is shooting 38.2% from the field and 31.3% from beyond the arc. In his last game, he finished with 13 points to go along with 3 rebounds and 3 steals. He hit a game winning 3 to beat the Magic on Saturday and so can be dangerous if not defended well.
Honorable Mention
Neemias Queta vs Mark Williams
Williams is averaging 11.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game. He is shooting 64.2% from the field but is not a threat from beyond the arc. Williams ranks 4th in the NBA in FG% (64.2%) and is 1-of-5 players in the NBA this season averaging 11+ points on 67+ TS% and 11+ rebounds per game. The Celtics need to keep him out of the paint and off the boards.
Keys to the Game
Defense – Defense is always a key to winning. The Celtics have a defensive rating of 112.2 (7th) and the Suns have a defensive rating of 112.5 (8th). The Suns take 40.4 threes per game (6th) and make 14.5 threes per game (8th). The Celtics take 42.3 threes per game and make 15.4 (3rd). The Suns are a good shooting team and the Celtics will need to up their defense, especially on the perimeter, if they want to beat the Suns at home.
Rebound – The Celtics need to rebound on the offensive end to give themselves extra possessions and to prevent the Suns from racking up fast break points. They also have to crash the boards on the defensive end to prevent the Suns from getting tip ins and second chance points. The Celtics are 8th with 45.7 rebounds per game while the Suns are 18th with 43.4 rebounds per game. Rebounding is all about effort and the Celtics are going to have to put out extra effort to win the battle of the boards.
Move the Ball Carefully – The Celtics need to move the ball in order to find the best shot on each possession. When the ball sticks and players try to do too much, the Celtics struggle. They are at their best when they pass the ball and keep it moving. ISO ball is not usually winning ball. The Celtics are 29-4 when they have at least 25 assists. They need to keep the ball moving and find the open man. However, they need to be careful with their passes and ball handling since the Suns are 3rd with 20.8 points per game off turnovers.
Be Aggressive – The Celtics have to come out and be aggressive right from the opening tip. They have to be aggressive on defense, driving to the basket, rebounding, diving for loose balls and just playing harder in general. They need to get off to a strong start and play hard right up until the final buzzer. They can’t let the Suns outwork them for any period of time because even the best team in the league can lose to the worst if they don’t play with effort. The Celtics tend to take it easy when a team is bad or missing key players. The Suns are missing several key players but are still capable of beating the Celtics if they don’t play aggressively throughout the game.
X-Factors
Road Fatigue – The Celtics are playing in the 3rd game of a 4 game road trip. They have had a lot of travel and had to sleep in hotels and play in hostile arenas. They may be gettng somewhat road weary. They have also changed time zones and may have a bit of jet lag. They may be short handed if Jaylen Brown is out and so they all need to pick up the slack and that could also add to fatigue in the game.
Officiating – I know that I say this every game, but the officiating always has the possibility to be an x-factor in every game. Every crew calls the game differently, whether they call every little ticky tack foul or they let a lot of contact go and let the teams play. Some refs favor the home team and some call for both teams evenly. The Celtics have got to adjust to the way the game is being called and not allow the officiating to take away from their focus.
