The Portland Trail Blazers begin a three-game East Coast trip Monday night in snowy Boston, taking on one of the NBA’s biggest success stories this season, a Celtics team.
Both teams will be looking to recover from tough losses. The Blazers (23-23) lost 110-98 at home to the Toronto Raptors on Friday night, coming off the heels of scoring just 12 points in the first quarter. Although they fought back to play an even game, they fell short of 100 points for the sixth time this season.
The Celtics (28-17) returned home from a heartbreaking loss in Chicago on Saturday night, beating the Bulls 114-111 on Kevin Huerter’s game-winning 3-pointer with 0.2 seconds left.
The Celtics and Blazers met less than a month ago in Portland, and the Blazers won a hard-fought 114-108 victory thanks to a rare series of turnovers by the Celtics late in the game. Let’s take a look at tonight’s rematch.
Jayson Tatum tore his Achilles tendon in last season’s playoffs and was initially expected to miss the entire 2025-2026 season, so expectations for the Celtics were low. They parted ways with several key contributors from their 2024 NBA championship team, trading Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday and letting Al Horford leave as a free agent.
They weren’t completely bereft of talent, as former NBA Finals MVP Jaylen Brown remained, as did Olympic gold medalist Derrick White and current Sixth Man of the Year Peyton Pritchard. But second place in the Eastern Conference in late January? It wasn’t what NBA experts expected.
After a middling start of 5 wins and 7 losses, the Celtics actually became one of the best teams in the league. They have the NBA’s top-ranked offense (121.2 points per 100 possessions) and third-best net rating (+7.2 points per 100 possessions), behind the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder and Eastern Conference leader Detroit Pistons.
The Blazers enter the game as one of the hottest teams in the league. They are 9-3 in 2026, with the seventh-ranked offense (116.5 points per 100 possessions) and ninth-ranked defense (111.5 points per 100 possessions) during that span.
Veterans Holiday and Jerami Grant return to the lineup after extended injury absences. Their additions are a welcome development for coach Thiago Splitter and the Blazers, who are hoping to take some of the pressure off Deni Avdija, who has been sidelined on and off for the past two weeks due to lower back tightness.
Portland Trail Blazers (23-23) vs. Boston Celtics (28-17) – Monday, January 26th – 5pm Pacific
How to listen: Rip City Radio 620AM
Trail Blazers injuries: Scoot Henderson, Damian Lillard, Matisse Thybulle, Blake Wesley, Duop Reese, Chris Murray (out). Deni Avdija, Robert Williams III (doubtful).
Celtics injuries: Jayson Tatum (out); Josh Minott, Niemias Queta (questionable).
Celtics SB Nation affiliation: celtics blog
Three and more three. These two teams have a few things in common. Both give their players permission to take 3-point shots at every opportunity. The Celtics attempt the second-most threes in the league (42.7 per game), and the Blazers are right behind them with the third-most threes (41.7).
But the Celtics’ conversion rate is much higher. Their 3-point shooting percentage is 36.9%, good for 8th in the NBA. The Blazers remain in last place at just 33.8%.
Can the Blazers make enough threes to beat the Celtics for a second time? Or, perhaps more importantly, can they protect the 3-point line well enough to contain Peyton Pritchard, Anfernee Simmons and Sam Hauser?
In the December 28 matchup, Boston shot just 13-44 (29.5%) from behind the arc. If the Blazers can repeat that defensive performance and make those shots difficult, they’ll have a chance.
turnover. While both teams have similar approaches to 3-point shooting, there are many differences. Most notably, the Celtics average the fewest turnovers in the NBA (12 per game), while the Blazers average 16.8 and turn the ball over more than any other team.
The Blazers took advantage of 19 Celtics turnovers (second-most all season) in the first matchup, including three critical turnovers in the final minute. The Blazers probably won’t have to force as many turnovers again, but they will need to keep their turnover margin close if they want to leave Boston with a win.
Free throw. Both teams try to get into the paint, but the Celtics prefer kickout passes to open shooters, while the Blazers are more likely to initiate contact and draw fouls. As a result, the Celtics shoot the fewest free throws (19 per game), while the Blazers shoot the fourth-most (26.5 per game).
If the Blazers allow more threes or lose the turnover battle, they may need to take a bigger free throw differential to keep the game close.
Anferno. Simmons returned to Portland on December 28, scoring 13 points on 4-for-11 shooting. At the time, he was scoring 12.8 points per game on 36.8% shooting from behind the arc. While this is a significant percentage, it is below his career average of 38.2%.
Since that game, he’s gotten more chances and he’s making the most of them. He scored 39 points and made seven 3-pointers against the Heat on Jan. 15, and is averaging 16.4 points and shooting 44.5% on 7.9 3-pointers per night over the last 14 games.
Will Simmons maintain his enthusiasm and give his former team some momentum? Or will the Blazers’ long arms and physical defenders be able to contain him?
SB Nation affiliate Trevor Hass’ CelticsBlog recently posted 10 reasons why the Celtics exceeded expectations. Number one? The play of Jaylen Brown, who scored 37 points in the last game against the Blazers. Hass writes:
I think we can all officially stop debating whether Jaylen Brown can serve as a No. 1 option for contenders. I knew Brown would embrace the role and excel, but I wasn’t expecting such sheer dominance.
Brown scored more points (22.2 to 29.8), rebounds (5.8 to 6.7) and assists (4.5 to 4.8) per game than last year, while improving his efficiency (46.3 to 48, 32.4 to 36.4, 76.4 to 79.1). He takes over the game, leads by example, and makes life easier for those around him.