Paul George has been in Boston long enough to settle on a one-line description of his job.
“My job is just make the game as easy as possible for JT,” he said after the Celtics’ preseason home win over the Philadelphia 76ers, quoted by Yahoo Sports.
The pairing gets its first real audition on Tuesday, when Boston opens the 2026-27 regular season against the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena. Tip-off is 3pm local time, the first of three games on an NBC-and-Peacock opening-night slate that also includes the 76ers at the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs hosting the Oklahoma City Thunder.
From Jaylen Brown to Paul George
The deal that reshaped Boston’s roster became official on July 6, when the Celtics traded Jaylen Brown to Philadelphia for Paul George, a 2028 first-round pick (via the Los Angeles Clippers, top-16 protected), the 76ers’ 2031 unprotected first and two second-round picks. George, a nine-time All-Star and six-time All-NBA selection, is 36; Brown, the 2024 Finals MVP, is 29. Mitchell Robinson arrived from New York in free agency to deepen the center rotation.
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Brown and Tatum were the engine of the 2024 title team, and prying them apart was the summer’s most-debated move in the Eastern Conference. George’s version of the sell is narrower than Brown’s and leans on defense and spacing rather than secondary creation.
“He’s going to be special. He knows how to make plays. He knows to get his own shot,” George said of Tatum, in the same session Yahoo quoted. “But if my aggression takes the pressure off him, and if I can find ways to steal extra possessions defensively, or get him some easy baskets, that’s what I’m gonna have to do.”
Tatum back for the full load
Tatum is 17 months on from the Achilles tear he suffered in the 2025 playoffs. He returned in March 2026 and started last season’s final run before sitting out Game 7 of the second round with left knee discomfort. Asked whether he can handle back-to-backs this year, he told reporters on media day, as transcribed by Boston.com, “Yes, I can, and yes, I want to.”
“I look back 12 months ago this time, I was very uncertain on this day if I was coming back to play, what that season was going to look like,” Tatum said. “I know I’m practicing tomorrow. I know I’m back healthy. I know I’m going to get back doing what I love to do.”
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Head coach Joe Mazzulla has echoed that assessment for George.
“He’s had a tremendous training camp from a physical standpoint,” Mazzulla said this week, in comments reported by Yahoo Sports. “The way he’s practiced, the way he played the other night in the game, I think he’s in great shape.”
George scored 13 points in his preseason debut, a 144-106 win over his former 76ers teammates at TD Garden.
A heavyweight opener in Detroit
The Pistons earned the opening-night slot after a 60-win season under head coach JB Bickerstaff, with Cade Cunningham voted to the All-NBA First Team. Boston finished directly behind them in the Eastern Conference standings. Detroit added John Collins and Isaiah Joe over the summer and will give both their regular-season debuts on Tuesday.
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The game is scheduled for 3pm local time at Little Caesars Arena, on NBC and Peacock.
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