Boston Celtics (46-23) at Memphis Grizzlies (24-44)
Friday, March 20, 2026
8:00 PM ET
Regular Season Game #70, Road Game #36
TV: NBCSB, FDSN, NBA-LP
Radio: 98.5 Sports Hub, ESPN 92.9, Sirius XM
Fed Ex Forum
In between 2 three game home stands, the Celtics are on the road to take on the Memphis Grizzlies. This is the second, and final, game between these two teams this season. The Celtics won 131-95 in Boston on November 12. The Celtics are 39-20 all time against the Grizzlies and they are 19-10 in games played on the road. The Celtics were 2-0 last season against the Grizzlies.
Both teams have made some changes since they last played in November. The Celtics traded away Anfernee Simons, Chris Boucher, Xavier Tillman and Josh Minott and brought back Nikola Vucevic. The Grizzlies traded Jaren Jackson, Jr, John Konchar, Jock Landale, and Vince Williams, Jr to Utah for Walter Clayton, Jr, Kyle Anderson, Taylor Hendricks, and Georges Niang. They also got Eric Gordon from Philly for a 2nd round pick. Anderson, Niang, and Gordon were all waived.
The Celtics are 2nd in the East, 4 games behind 1st place Detroit. They are 1.5 games ahead of 3rd place New York, 3.5 games ahead of 4th place Cleveland, 6.5 games ahead of 5th place Toronto, 8 games ahead of 6th place Atlanta, and 7th place Orlando. The Celtics are 17-9 against Western Conference opponents. They are 22-13 on the road and 7-3 in their last 10 games. They have won their last 3 games.
The Grizzlies are 11th in the West, 17 games behind 6th place Denver, 9.5 games behind the LA Clippers, 9 games behind 9th place Portland, and 8.5 games behind 10th place Golden State. They are 1 game ahead of 12th place New Orleans and 2 games ahead of 13th place Dallas. They are 5-17 against Eastern Conference opponents. They are 12-20 at home and 2-8 in their last 10 games. They are coming off a win in their last game.
After this game on the road at Memphis before a 3 game home stand against Minnesota, Oklahoma City and Atlanta. Then it’s back on the road for a 4 game trip through Charlotte, 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.
The Grizzlies are playing in their 2nd straight home game after beating the Nuggets on Wednesday. After this, they will play at Charlotte and at Atlanta before a 6 game home stand where they will host San Antonio, Houston, Chicago, Phoenix, New York, and Toronto. They will then play at Milwaukee, and home against Cleveland before finishing the season on the road at Denver, Utah and Houston.
Nikola Vucevic remains on the injury list after surgery to stabilize a fracture in his right ring finger. They also list Amari Williams and Max Shulga as questionable and John Tonje as out for G-League assignment. The Grizzlies have 7 players out and 2 players listed as doubtful. Taj Gibson is doubtful with a foot injury and GG Jackson II is doubtful with a knee injury.
Santi Aldama is out after a season ending knee injury. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is out after having surgery to address the misalignment of his right pinky finger. Brandon Clarke is out due to a calf injury. Zach Edey is out after surgery to relieve bone stress in his left ankle. Jahmai Mashack is out due to a sprained left ankle. Ja Morant is out due to a sprained UCL in his elbow. Scotty Pippen, Jr is out after surgery to relieve discomfort in his right big toe.
Probable Starting Matchups
PG: Derrick White vs Walter Clayton, Jr
Derrick White
NBAE via Getty Images
Walter Clayton, Jr
NBAE via Getty Images
SG: Jaylen Brown vs Cedric Coward
Jaylen Brown
NBAE via Getty Images
Cedric Coward
Cedric Coward
NBAE via Getty Images
SF: Sam Hauser vs Jaylen Wells
Sam Hauser
Getty Images
Jaylen Wells
Getty Images
PF: Jayson Tatum vs Rayan Rupert
Jayson Tatum
NBAE via Getty Images
Rayan Rupert
Getty Images
C: Neemias Queta vs Olivier-Maxence Prosper
Neemias Queta
NBAE via Getty Images
Olivier-Maxence Prosper
Getty Images
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
John Tonje (G-League) out
Amari Williams (G-League) questionable
Max Shulga (G-League) questionable
Head Coach
Joe Mazzulla
Grizzlies Reserves
Tyler Burton (10 Day)
Taylor Hendricks
DeJon Jarrreau (10 Day)
Ty Jerome
Cam Spencer
2 Way Players
Rayan Rupert
Jahmai Mashack
Javon Small
Injuries/Out
Santi Adama (knee) out
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (finger) out
Brandon Clarke (calf) out
Zach Edey (ankle) out
Jahmai Mashack (ankle) out
Ja Morant (elbow) out
Scotty Pippen, Jr. (toe) out
Taj Gibson (foot) doubtful
GG Jackson II (knee) doubtful
Head Coach
Tuomas Iisalo
Key Matchups
Jaylen Brown vs Cedric Coward
Coward is averaging 13.4 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game. He is averaging 46.4% from the field and 33.6% from beyond the arc. In the first game against the Celtics, he finished with 12 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists while shooting 25% from the field and 16.7% from beyond the arc.
Sam Hauser vs Jaylen Wells
Wells is averaging 12.8 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. He is shooting 43.3% from the field and 35.8% from beyond the arc. In the first game against the Celtics, hefinished with 5 points, 4 rebounds, no assists and 2 steals while shooting 20% from the field and 20% from beyond the arc.
Honorable Mention
Neemias Queta vs Olivier-Maxence Prosper
Prosper is averaging 8.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 1 assist. He is shooting 53.7% from the field and 40.4% from beyond the arc. In the first game against the Celtics, he finished with 8 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 block while shooting 28.6% from the field with no 3s.
Keys to the Game
Defense - Defense is always the key to winning. The Celtics are 5th with a defensive rating of 111.6. The Grizzlies are 22nd with a defensive rating of 116.5. The Grizzlies have an offensive rating of 113.5 (20th) while the Celtics have an offensive rating of 119.7 (2nd). The Celtics have to guard the perimeter and also guard the paint since the Grizzlies average 48.3 points in the paint.
Rebound - The Celtics can’t score if they don’t have the ball and to get the ball, they have to grab rebounds. The Celtics are 4th in the league, grabbing 46.3 rebounds per game while the Grizzlies are 17th with 43.5 rebounds per game. Much of rebounding is effort and hustle and the Celtics need to put out more effort than the Grizzlies in order to beat them to rebounds. The Grizzlies out rebounded Denver in their last game 48-46 and so the Celtics can’t take them for granted. They have to work hard to grab rebounds.
Don’t Underestimate - The Grizzlies may have just 24 wins and they may be missing more than half of their players and they may be tanking, but the Celtics can’t take this team for granted. The Nuggets are coming off a 125-118 win over the Denver Nuggets with a mostly healthy team. The Celtics need to take this game seriously and come out strong and play hard from the opening tip until the final buzzer.
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 28-0 when they have more assists than their opponent but just 16-21 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, however, because the Grizzlies average 18 points off turnovers per game.
X-Factors
On the Road and Fatigue - The Celtics are on the road for one game away from TD Garden. They need to get past the distractions of travel and being away from their homes and families and they have to keep from being rattled by the hostile crowd. They have to concentrate on playing the right way and ignore all the distractions. Also, young players often struggle on the road and Celtics young guns need to keep their focus and play team ball.
Officiating - Officiating is always an x-factor. Some officials call the game tight and call every little bit of contact. Others let them play and allow both teams to be physical. Some refs call it one sided for one team while others call it even. Some refs give the home team the benefit of the calls while others favor the road team or favor neither. The Celtics have to concentrate on playing their game and not allow bad calls and no calls to take away from their focus on playing.