The NBA season is officially back, and the Boston Celtics are set to tip things off Tuesday afternoon against the Detroit Pistons at 3 p.m. ET.
Boston retained most of its core, headlined by forward Jayson Tatum. However, the team also made some major offseason moves worth keeping an eye on.
Most notably, the Celtics acquired veteran Paul George in a blockbuster trade involving Jaylen Brown and signed center Mitchell Robinson, who is coming off an NBA championship with the New York Knicks.
Celtics Announce Payton Pritchard Decision
One of the first questions fans wanted answered was who the Celtics would start in their season opener.
They provided that answer in the hour leading up to tipoff, revealing that guard Payton Pritchard would come off the bench and remain in the sixth-man role where he has thrived.
Instead, the starting lineup will feature Derrick White, Jordan Walsh, Paul George, Jayson Tatum and Mitchell Robinson.
Via Underdog NBA: “Lineup alert: Celtics will start White, Walsh, George, Tatum, Robinson on Tuesday.”
Lineup alert: Celtics will start White, Walsh, George, Tatum, Robinson on Tuesday.
— Underdog NBA (@UnderdogNBA) October 20, 2026
Joe Mazzulla Speaks on Starting Lineup
Ahead of the game, Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla explained his thinking behind the starting lineup decision, saying people put too much emphasis on who starts. Instead, he believes the focus should be on which players are on the floor during the final five minutes.
“Yeah, honestly my thinking is people care about it too much,” Mazzulla said. “It’s the last five minutes in the game and end of quarter lineups are important, start of quarter lineups are important, end of game lineups are important and so I think it just gets overblown… I put as just as much thought as an end of quarter lineup as I would a starting lineup… they all carry the same weight to me.”
Boston Celtics Announce Payton Pritchard Decision Amid Pistons Game