NBA · Regular season

Denver Nuggets vs Boston Celtics: Preview and Stats

Thursday 19 November 2026, 02:00 UTC Ball Arena, Denver

Our picks

Our picks for Denver Nuggets vs Boston Celtics come out after the official NBA injury report, at most 48 hours before tip-off, and at the latest Wednesday 18 November 2026, 23:00 UTC (3 hours before tip-off).

We are waiting for the result of a team's previous game.

Our NBA model track record for this matchup

Our winner picks on these teams

Denver Nuggets 7 of 10 right (70%)
Boston Celtics 12 of 12 right (100%)

Settled NBA winner picks since 20 Oct 2026.

Game details

Stage: NBA, Regular season
Tip-off: Thursday 19 November 2026, 02:00 UTC
Arena: Ball Arena
City: Denver
Since last match: Denver Nuggets: Phoenix Suns Boston Celtics: Orlando Magic
Next match: Denver Nuggets: Houston Rockets Boston Celtics: Sacramento Kings

Missing production & availability impact

Share of last 10 games' offensive creation (PTS + AST) and minutes sidelined.

Denver Nuggets

Official NBA injury report not yet filed for this matchup.

Boston Celtics

Official NBA injury report not yet filed for this matchup.

Official NBA injury report

Denver Nuggets

Official NBA injury report not yet filed for this matchup.

Boston Celtics

Official NBA injury report not yet filed for this matchup.

Expected 8-man core rotation

Projected starters and key bench from recent usage and the official injury report.

Denver Nuggets

Projected Starters

G Jamal Murray

36.3 MPG 26.2 PPG 5.0 RPG 5.9 APG
C Nikola Jokić

36.3 MPG 23.5 PPG 10.8 RPG 9.0 APG
G Christian Braun

34.3 MPG 12.4 PPG 4.1 RPG 2.4 APG
F Aaron Gordon

29.0 MPG 11.0 PPG 5.0 RPG 2.1 APG
F Cameron Johnson

28.4 MPG 12.1 PPG 3.9 RPG 1.9 APG

Key Bench

G-F DeMar DeRozan

23.6 MPG 10.0 PPG 2.0 RPG 3.0 APG
F Trevon Brazile

19.6 MPG 7.1 PPG 5.6 RPG 0.5 APG
F Spencer Jones

19.0 MPG 5.3 PPG 2.3 RPG 0.3 APG

Boston Celtics

Projected Starters

G-F Jayson Tatum

33.2 MPG 26.7 PPG 6.0 RPG 7.1 APG
G Derrick White

28.9 MPG 12.4 PPG 3.0 RPG 4.9 APG
F Paul George

29.5 MPG 20.9 PPG 5.0 RPG 4.1 APG
G Payton Pritchard

26.9 MPG 13.9 PPG 3.5 RPG 3.9 APG
C Neemias Queta

22.6 MPG 9.2 PPG 7.0 RPG 1.9 APG

Key Bench

G Baylor Scheierman

21.9 MPG 6.3 PPG 4.5 RPG 1.7 APG
G Devin Carter

28.7 MPG 14.0 PPG 0.0 RPG 0.0 APG
F Sam Hauser

21.1 MPG 8.0 PPG 3.6 RPG 1.0 APG

OptimaGoal power & pace ratings

Full NBA power ratings

Neutral-court net point rating and 48-minute tempo rank across all 30 NBA franchises.

Denver Nuggets

#5 of 30

Net rating +5.4 30d: +3.6

Pace: -1.8 (#18 of 30)

Boston Celtics

#1 of 30

Net rating +7.8 30d: -0.1

Pace: -3.9 (#29 of 30)

OptimaGoal tactical & efficiency profile (0–100)

Original 0–100 indices built from each team's last 10 played games before tip-off.

Denver Nuggets

Net 53

Shot quality (TS%) 59

3PT volume & accuracy 45

Ball security & passing 54

Rebounding control 39

Defensive disruption 52

ORtg 114.5 · DRtg 113.3 · Net +1.2 · TS 59.1%

Boston Celtics

Net 89

Shot quality (TS%) 56

3PT volume & accuracy 70

Ball security & passing 35

Rebounding control 58

Defensive disruption 72

ORtg 116.0 · DRtg 102.1 · Net +13.9 · TS 58.7%

Denver Nuggets · Record vs point differential W-L record aligned with point differential 6W actual vs 5.4W expected (10 GP)

Boston Celtics · Record vs point differential W-L record aligned with point differential 10W actual vs 9.7W expected (12 GP)

Halftime splits & clutch profile

Game-state outcomes and half-by-half scoring share over the last 15 games.

Denver Nuggets

Win rate when leading at HT 5/8 (62%)

Comeback wins when trailing at HT 2/6 (33%)

Scoring split (1H vs 2H)

1H: 57.0 (51.1%) 2H: 54.6 (48.9%)

Clutch (≤5 pts / OT): 2-1 10+ pt margins: 4-6

Boston Celtics

Win rate when leading at HT 8/10 (80%)

Comeback wins when trailing at HT 2/5 (40%)

Scoring split (1H vs 2H)

1H: 58.3 (52.7%) 2H: 52.4 (47.3%)

Clutch (≤5 pts / OT): 3-0 10+ pt margins: 6-3

Pace & total-points trends

Scoring environment and threshold hit counts across the last 10 games.

DEN

BOS

Points scored / game 114.5 115.1

Points allowed / game 113.3 101.3

Average game total 227.8 216.4

Average 1st-half total 114.9 111.9

Possessions / 48 min 99.0 98.2

Games with 220+ pts 6/10 4/10

Games with 230+ pts 5/10 3/10

Games with 240+ pts 4/10 1/10

Scored 115+ pts 4/10 6/10

Schedule density & travel spot

Rest days, multi-game compression and current home/road stretch entering tip-off.

Denver Nuggets

1 day rest

1 in 4 nights 1 in 6 nights Homestand · Game 1

Boston Celtics

1 day rest

1 in 4 nights 1 in 6 nights Road trip · Game 5

Primary offensive threats

Available rotation leaders by scoring and shot share over the last 10 games.

Denver Nuggets

#1 Nikola Jokić C 20.5% pts share

23.5 PPG · 10.8 RPG · 9.0 APG · 1.0 3PM 21.5% FGA
#2 Jamal Murray G 22.9% pts share

26.2 PPG · 5.0 RPG · 5.9 APG · 4.0 3PM 20.0% FGA
#3 Christian Braun G 10.8% pts share

12.4 PPG · 4.1 RPG · 2.4 APG · 1.6 3PM 11.6% FGA

Boston Celtics

#1 Jayson Tatum G-F 23.2% pts share

26.7 PPG · 6.0 RPG · 7.1 APG · 2.6 3PM 20.9% FGA
#2 Paul George F 18.2% pts share

20.9 PPG · 5.0 RPG · 4.1 APG · 3.4 3PM 18.4% FGA
#3 Derrick White G 10.8% pts share

12.4 PPG · 3.0 RPG · 4.9 APG · 1.6 3PM 11.9% FGA

Last five games

Denver Nuggets

W 123-118 at Memphis Grizzlies (A) 12 Nov
L 100-110 at Houston Rockets (A) 10 Nov
W 114-102 vs Indiana Pacers (H) 7 Nov
W 128-109 vs Toronto Raptors (H) 5 Nov
L 110-118 vs Portland Trail Blazers (H) 3 Nov

Boston Celtics

W 98-93 at Toronto Raptors (A) 12 Nov
W 123-101 at Philadelphia 76ers (A) 11 Nov
W 117-97 at Milwaukee Bucks (A) 9 Nov
W 119-80 at Charlotte Hornets (A) 7 Nov
W 109-102 vs Milwaukee Bucks (H) 5 Nov

Most recent first, all games of the season, overtime included.

Last 10 head-to-head meetings

DEN · 5W BOS · 5W

Avg total pts: 218.9 DEN avg: 108.4 BOS avg: 110.5 225+ pt games: 3/10 DEN at home: 3-2

25 Feb 2026 DEN 103‑84 BOS
7 Jan 2026 BOS 110‑114 DEN
2 Mar 2025 BOS 110‑103 DEN
7 Jan 2025 DEN 106‑118 BOS
7 Mar 2024 DEN 115‑109 BOS
19 Jan 2024 BOS 100‑102 DEN
1 Jan 2023 DEN 123‑111 BOS
11 Nov 2022 BOS 131‑112 DEN
20 Mar 2022 DEN 104‑124 BOS
11 Feb 2022 BOS 108‑102 DEN

Season profile comparison

DEN

BOS

Record 6-4 10-2

At home 3-2 5-0

On the road 3-2 5-2

Conference 9 of 15, Western Conference 1 of 15, Eastern Conference

Streak – Won 5 in a row

Days of rest 1 1

Our team rating #5 of 30 #1 of 30

Pace #18 of 30 #29 of 30

Inter-conference matchup — both conference tables shown with Play-off (#6) and Play-in (#10) cut lines.

Western Conference standings

Full NBA standings

#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	L10	Streak
1	Los Angeles Lakers	11	2	.846	–	5-1	6-1	8-2	W7
2	San Antonio Spurs	10	2	.833	0.5	4-2	6-0	10-0	W10
3	Houston Rockets	9	3	.750	1.5	6-1	3-2	7-3	W2
4	Minnesota Timberwolves	9	3	.750	1.5	5-1	4-2	7-3	W5
5	Portland Trail Blazers	8	3	.727	2.0	3-2	5-1	7-3	W2
6	Golden State Warriors	8	4	.667	2.5	6-1	2-3	8-2	L1
7	Oklahoma City Thunder	8	4	.667	2.5	5-0	3-4	6-4	L2
8	Memphis Grizzlies	7	4	.636	3.0	2-4	5-0	6-4	L1
9	Denver Nuggets	6	4	.600	3.5	3-2	3-2	6-4	W1
10	Dallas Mavericks	7	5	.583	3.5	5-2	2-3	6-4	L1
11	Phoenix Suns	5	6	.455	5.0	5-3	0-3	5-5	W2
12	New Orleans Pelicans	4	8	.333	6.5	3-4	1-4	4-6	L4
13	LA Clippers	2	8	.200	7.5	2-3	0-5	2-8	L1
14	Sacramento Kings	1	10	.091	9.0	0-6	1-4	1-9	L4
15	Utah Jazz	1	11	.083	9.5	1-6	0-5	0-10	L10

Solid cut lines mark Top 6 (direct Play-offs) and Top 10 (Play-in Tournament).

Eastern Conference standings

Full NBA standings

#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	L10	Streak
1	Boston Celtics	10	2	.833	–	5-0	5-2	9-1	W5
2	Philadelphia 76ers	10	3	.769	0.5	5-2	5-1	7-3	W1
3	Detroit Pistons	8	3	.727	1.5	3-2	5-1	7-3	W2
4	Atlanta Hawks	7	5	.583	3.0	3-3	4-2	5-5	L1
5	New York Knicks	6	5	.545	3.5	4-3	2-2	6-4	L1
6	Cleveland Cavaliers	6	6	.500	4.0	4-2	2-4	5-5	W1
7	Miami Heat	5	6	.455	4.5	1-3	4-3	5-5	W2
8	Toronto Raptors	5	7	.417	5.0	2-3	3-4	3-7	L3
9	Orlando Magic	4	7	.364	5.5	0-4	4-3	4-6	W2
10	Charlotte Hornets	4	8	.333	6.0	3-4	1-4	3-7	L1
11	Indiana Pacers	4	8	.333	6.0	1-4	3-4	3-7	W1
12	Washington Wizards	4	9	.308	6.5	2-3	2-6	2-8	L6
13	Brooklyn Nets	3	8	.273	6.5	1-3	2-5	3-7	W1
14	Chicago Bulls	1	9	.100	8.0	0-4	1-5	1-9	L8
15	Milwaukee Bucks	1	11	.083	9.0	1-6	0-5	1-9	L8

Solid cut lines mark Top 6 (direct Play-offs) and Top 10 (Play-in Tournament).

More NBA games

Games

Times are UTC.