Boston Opens in Detroit Against a Team That Matched Its Net…

By the Celtics Nightly Desk · Monday, October 19

The Celtics open the 2026-27 season Tuesday at Detroit, a team whose net rating last season was a tenth of a point better than Boston's. Devin Carter is listed out with illness and will miss the first stretch.

Celtics Nightly artwork — Illustration by Hoops Nightly.

Carter's illness is the only new injury, and it is not a short one.

Carter went from day-to-day to out on Sunday, with an illness listed and a return date of October 27. CelticsBlog reported that he has been diagnosed with mono. The club has not said so in the information available here, so treat the diagnosis as their reporting. On the listed date he would miss the first three games and might be available for the fourth, against the Nets.

Everyone else enters the opener cleared.

The rest-day designations from Friday were wiped the next day, and no other Celtic is listed. One loose end: Baylor Scheierman was re-listed for rest on October 16 and did not appear in the clearing batch. That is a gap in the paperwork, not evidence of a problem. Camp also shrank by four players on Saturday, which leaves seventeen contracts and a payroll of $203.9M.

The Pistons are the better early read than the preseason was.

Detroit won 60 games last season with a 117.3 offensive and 108.9 defensive rating, for a net of 8.4. Boston's net was 8.3, on a 56-26 record. Those figures are last season's, and Boston has since traded Jaylen Brown for Paul George, so the comparison describes two different rosters. Both teams have had three days of rest, and Boston plays its second straight road game after that.

The open question is availability, not talent.

Tatum appeared in 16 games last season and George in 37. The Brown-White-Queta-Pritchard-Hauser five was +17.9 over 200 minutes, but that sample says nothing about a lineup with George in it. Tuesday will not settle the question, though the minutes will show how Mazzulla plans to manage them. Knicks on Friday, on Prime Video, will give a second data point.

When do the Celtics open the 2026-27 season?

Tuesday, October 20, at the Detroit Pistons, televised on NBC and Peacock. The home opener follows on October 23 against the Knicks.

Is Devin Carter playing in the season opener?

No. He is listed out with an illness and his return date is October 27. CelticsBlog reported a mono diagnosis.

By the Celtics Nightly Desk, written from the club's data and the reports on file, with every name and number checked against them. How the desks work.