Los Angeles Clippers (4-8) at Boston Celtics (6-7)
Sunday, November 16, 2025
3:30 PM ET
Regular Season Game #14, Home Game #7
TV: NBCSB, SoCal, NBA-LP
Radio: 98.5 Sports Hub, KLAC AM 570, Sirius XM
TD Garden
The Celtics host the Los Angeles Clippers for the first of 2 games between these two teams this season. They will meet again in Los Angeles on January 3. The Celtics won the series 2-0 last season. The Celtics have been off since their 131-95 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday. The Clippers last played
on Friday with a 133-127 OT win over the Mavericks.
The Celtics are currently 11th in the East, 1 game behind the 8th(CHI), 9th (ORL) and 10th (MIA) spots. They are just 1.5 games behind 6th place Philadelphia. they are 6-4 in their last 10 games and 2-2 against the West. The Clippers are 11th in the West, tied with 10th place Utah and 4 behind the 6th place Spurs. They are 3-7 in their last 10 games and are 0-2 against the East. Both teams are coming off a win.
The Clippers made some changes in the off season. They traded Normal Powell to the Heat in a 3 team trade that brought John Collins to LA from the Jazz. They also traded Mohamed Diawara and Luka Mitrovic to the Knicks for Kobe Sanders and signed him to a 2 way contract. They also signed Brook Lopez, Bradley Beal, and Chris Paul as free agents.
After this game at home against the LA Clippers the Celtics play on the road at Brooklyn before playing Brooklyn, Orlando, and Detroit at home. The home game against Brooklyn will be an Emerates NBA Cup game. They then play at Minnesota and at Cleveland before one game at home vs New York. Then, they play at Washington, at home against the Lakers and at Toronto before a break for the NBA Cup games.
This is the 2nd of a 7 game road trip for the Clippers. They started the trip with an OT win over the Mavs on Friday. After this game, They will play at Philadelphia, Orlando, ,Charlotte, Cleveland and the Lakers. They then play Memphis and Dallas at home before another road trip through MMiami, Atlanta, Memphis and Minnesota that will take them into the NBA Cup Tournament.
Jayson Tatum remains the only player on the Celtics’ injury report as he rehabs from the torn Achilles. For the Clippers, Bradley Beal is out for the season after surgery to repair a left hip fracture. Kawhi Leonard is out for this game with a right foot sprain in addition to a sprained right ankle.
Probable Starting Matchups
PG: Derrick White vs James Harden
SG: Payton Pritchard vs Kris Dunn
SF: Jaylen Brown vs Derrick Jones, Jr
PF: Jordan Walsh vs John Collins
C: Neemias Queta vs Ivica Zubac
Celtics Reserves
Anfernee Simons
Chris Boucher
Xavier Tillman
Josh Minott
Hugo Gonzalez
Luka Garza
Baylon Scheierman
Sam Hauser
2-Way Players
Ron Harper, Jr
Max Shulga
Amari Williams
Injuries/Out
Jayson Tatum (Achilles) out
Head Coach
Joe Mazzulla
Clippers Reserves
Nicolas Batum
Bogdan Bogdanovic
Kobe Brown
Cam Christie
Yanic Konan Niederhauser
Brook Lopez
Chris Paul
Two-Way Players
Jordan Miller
Kobe Sanders
Jahmyl Telfort
Injuries/Out
Bradley Beal (hip) out
Kawhi Leonard (foot/ankle) out
Head Coach
Tyronn Lue
Key Matchups
Derrick White vs James Harden
Harden is averaging 25.0 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 9.1 assists while shooting 46.1% from the field and 39.2% from beyond the arc. He is coming off a game against Dallas where he finished with 41 points, 14 rebounds, and 11 assists. He is very dangerous from both inside and on the perimeter and the Celtics need to stay with him on defense.
Neemias Queta vs Ivica Zubac
Zubac is averaging 16.2 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.1 blocks per game. He is shooting 63.2% from the field with no 3’s. In his last game against the Mavericks, he finished with 27 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 block. The Celtics need to stay with him in the paint especially and they need to box him out on the boards.
Honorable Mention
Jordan Walsh vs John Collins
In Collins’ first season with the Clippers he is averaging 11.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1 steal per game. He is shooting 50% from the field and 34.4% from beyond the arc. Last season he averaged 19.0 points per game and shot 39.9% from three-point range. He is capable of a big game if not defended both in the paint and on the perimeter.
Keys to the Game
Defense – As always, defense is a key to winning this, and every, game. The Celtics were second in the preseason with a defensive rating of 100.2. They have slipped somewhat to start the season but have climbed back to 7th with a defensive rating of 112.3. The Clippers are 23rd with a defensive rating of 117.9. The Celtics must play tough lock down defense in every game to give themselves the best chance of winning.
Rebound – Rebounding is also a big key to winning. It is very important now because the Celtics have struggled on the boards in their losses this season. The Celtics are 1-5 in games in which they are out-rebounded by their opponents. They simply have to fight harder to grab rebounds than their opponents. Much of rebounding is effort and every Celtic has got to crash the boards and fight for every rebound.
Effort and Pace – I’ve already mentioned that the Celtics need to put out more effort on the boards but they have to play with more effort overall for all 4 quarters. In their 6 wins, the Celtics played harder and with more energy than their opponents. That has to be their identity this season. They have to play harder on defense and they have to rebound harder. They also need to play faster and run in order to get easier shots before the defense sets up. The Celtics are 29th with a pace of 96.69. The Clippers are 29th with a pace of 97.02
Offensive Execution – The Celtics are 24th in the league, shooting just 33.5% from beyond the arc. Almost every Celtic was struggling to hit their shots to start the season. Against the Grizzlies they seemed to come out of their slumps and shot 50.5% from the field and 41.2% from beyond the arc. Hopefully that will continue into this game. However, if they struggle early in the game, they need to score in the midrange or in the paint and not continue to brick 3’s the entire game.
Home Game and Rest– The Celtics are at home for the second straight game. They need to protect home court and play with energy and effort. The Celtics should get a boost from the home crowd and from playing on their home court. The Clippers have the distractions of travel, staying in hotels, and playing in front of a hostile crowd. The Celtics have had 3 days off and should be well rested and ready to play while the Clippers are playing in the 2nd straight road game on just 1 day rest.
Officiating – I know that I say this every game, but the officiating always can 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 not so much. The Celtics have got to adjust to the way the game is being called and not let the officiating take away from their focus.
