Celtics vs. Bulls: the five starter matchups that matter

Boston hosts Chicago on Monday, Oct. 26, at 7:30 p.m. ET at TD Garden, with the Celtics 1-1 and the Bulls 1-2. Both teams have started the same five players in every game this season, which makes the evening a set of five head-to-head questions. The pairings below are expected assignments based on position and size, not confirmed ones, and the lineups become official shortly before tip.

Chicago's profile is unusual. The Bulls have attempted 35.7 free throws a game while making 22.6% of their threes, and they have averaged 48.3 rebounds. The Celtics have shot well from three but have averaged 38.0 rebounds and lost the glass in both games. The starter matchups show where those trends are likely to collide.

Derrick White vs. Norman Powell

White and Powell are both listed at 6-foot-4, so this is the cleanest assignment on the floor. Powell, 33, leads Chicago's guards at 19.3 points a game, but he is 14 of 41 from the field and 7 of 25 from three. His production comes at the line, where he is 23 of 27 on 9.0 attempts a game. White, 32, is the more efficient shooter so far at 12 of 24, with 5 of 13 from three, and averages 7.0 assists to Powell's 1.7.

Boston's edge is that Powell's scoring depends on contact, so White's task is to defend without fouling. Chicago's edge is that Powell can score without a hot shooting night. White also shot 11 of 42 in last season's three games against the Bulls, a reminder that this matchup has gone against him before.

Jordan Walsh vs. Josh Giddey

Both are listed at 6-foot-7. Giddey, 24, is the Bulls' connector at 8.3 assists and 6.3 rebounds a game, but he has scored 5.7 points on 7-of-26 shooting and is 1 of 9 from three. Walsh is the lowest-scoring Boston starter at 2.5 points a game, and the assignment asks for little scoring from him.

Boston's edge is that Giddey's three-point numbers invite Walsh to sag off him and help elsewhere. Chicago's edge is that a sagging defender gives Giddey free passing space at the top of the floor, where he averaged 9.1 assists a game last season. Walsh's job is to stay close enough to take that away and to rebound, which he has done at 4.5 a game.

Paul George vs. Caleb Wilson

Wilson, a 20-year-old rookie listed at 6-foot-9, has been Chicago's primary option. He leads the Bulls at 22.3 points a game and has taken 59 shots in three games, making 24, and just 4 of 23 from three. He also has 12 turnovers, four a game, and he scored 30 points with 14 rebounds against Washington on Sunday.

George, 36 and listed at 6-foot-8, averages 26.5 points and 3.5 steals a game. Boston's edge is hands and experience against a high-volume rookie who coughs up the ball. Chicago's edge is legs: George is playing about 32 minutes a game, and a young scorer who keeps attacking will test his lateral speed late. Wilson has also made 15 of 19 free throws, so fouls on him are costly.

Jayson Tatum vs. Matas Buzelis

Tatum and Buzelis are both listed at 6-foot-8, and the two are likely to trade assignments with George and Wilson through the night. Tatum averages 24.5 points and 9.0 assists but is 20 of 49 from the field and 3 of 17 from three. Buzelis, 22, averages 15.0 points on 11-of-30 shooting and is 2 of 15 from three, yet he is 21 of 25 at the line.

Boston's edge is playmaking: no Chicago forward creates for teammates the way Tatum does. Chicago's edge is that Buzelis has a record against this team, scoring 26 points on 9-of-12 shooting in a January meeting last season. Tatum's shooting slump is the open question, and Buzelis's length gives him a reason to keep attacking the basket rather than settle for threes.

Mitchell Robinson vs. Jalen Smith

With Nic Claxton out, Smith, 6-foot-8, is Chicago's starting center, while Robinson is listed at 7-foot. Smith averages 14.3 points and 8.0 rebounds in fewer than 23 minutes, including 10 offensive rebounds in three games, and he is 4 of 15 from three. Robinson averages 4.0 points and 3.5 rebounds in about 20 minutes, with 1.5 blocks.

Boston's edge is size at the rim. Chicago's edge is that Smith can drag Robinson out to the three-point line, and his offensive rebounds are the kind that swing close games. The wild card is a swap: Robinson on Giddey, who is 1 of 9 from three, and Walsh on Smith, which would let the 7-footer stay near the paint.

Where Boston has the edge

The first edge is shooting. Boston has made 32 of 81 threes, 39.5%, against 28 of 124, or 22.6%, for Chicago, which takes 41.3 a game. The Bulls have also allowed opponents to shoot 47.5% from the field.

The second is the bench. Both teams' reserves average 38.0 points a game, but Boston's second unit has made 13 of 29 threes (44.8%) to Chicago's 10 of 37 (27.0%), and its scoring has been steady, with 41 and 35 points. Chicago's bench has swung from 27 to 59 to 28. Payton Pritchard leads Boston's reserves at 10.5 points and 8 of 10 at the line, while Tre Jones leads Chicago's at 11.3 points and 3.7 assists.

The third is turnovers. Chicago commits 17.7 a game, and Wilson and Buzelis account for 20 of its 53. Boston's opponents have given the ball away 16.5 times a game, so the defense has a record of creating the same kind of mistakes.

The risks are the glass and the line. Chicago averages 48.3 rebounds and 14.3 offensive rebounds, while Boston has been out-rebounded 93-76 over two games and has allowed 26.5 free-throw attempts a game. If George, Tatum and White foul Powell, Wilson and Buzelis, Chicago's shooting problems stop mattering. Each figure comes from two or three games, and Chicago's totals include a 135-92 loss at Toronto, so none is settled.

What to watch

Four questions will be answered early: whether White can guard Powell without fouling, whether Walsh sags off Giddey or stays attached, whether George can contain Wilson in the second half, and whether Robinson keeps Smith off the offensive glass. Chicago's questionable players, Patrick Williams (groin) and Essengue (head), would affect only the bench: neither has started a game this season, and Williams has not played. The teams meet again Friday, Oct. 30, at TD Garden.

Sources: box score data, including last season's games between the teams, and 2025-26 season statistics; team injury listings.