BreakoutsPro

Paul George scored 38 in his Celtics debut, and what Boston's rotation showed around him

George's 72 ESPN fantasy points lifted him from 73rd to 55th on our points board, while Mitchell Robinson started at center over Neemias Queta and Jayson Tatum shot 6 of 23 with 11 assists.

By · 4 min read

Paul George scored 38 points in Boston's 121-113 loss at Detroit on Tuesday, the most any player has scored in his first game for the Celtics, as ESPN and NBC Sports Boston both reported. He made 12 of 21 shots and seven of 12 threes, added five rebounds, three assists and five steals in 31 minutes, and scored 72 fantasy points under ESPN's default scoring, the best line of the three opening night games. Boston led by 22 and lost after Detroit closed the game on a 23-0 run in the fourth quarter, a run NBA.com and DAZN both reported.

Ranks from our projections board and the analysts' consensus, updated nightly.

The game moved George up our boards and left the rest of Boston's rotation close to where it was, with one exception at center that is worth knowing in deeper leagues. We compare our projections from the morning of October 20 with those from the morning of October 21, under ESPN's points scoring and on our nine-category board, so every move below is the effect of this one game.

Keep reading with Pro

This story is for Pro members. Pro is $4 a month or $20 for the season, and opens every story in the Newsroom along with the full projections and every analyst's rankings.

Every player in this story is on the fantasy basketball rankings and the 2026-27 projections, and the NBA depth charts show where each one stands in his team’s rotation tonight.

All stories in the NewsroomOctober 21, 2026

More from the Newsroom

Sleepers

The preseason position battles in Boston, Los Angeles, New Orleans and Sacramento, and what they change

Mitchell Robinson and Jordan Walsh started Boston's last two games, Quentin Grimes held his Lakers spot, and New Orleans and Sacramento head into the season with jobs still moving.

James · October 19, 2026 · 4 min read
Breakouts

Opening night in fantasy terms, from Paul George's 72 points to Wembanyama's 1-of-13

Paul George scored 72 ESPN fantasy points in his Boston debut and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 67, while Victor Wembanyama and Jayson Tatum had poor shooting nights that moved our projections only slightly.

James · October 21, 2026 · 3 min read
Strategy

The players whose value changes most between ESPN, Yahoo and Fantrax scoring

Tyrese Haliburton is 17th on our points board under ESPN's default scoring and 37th under Yahoo's and Fantrax's, while Paolo Banchero goes the other way, from 32nd to 14th.

James · October 14, 2026 · 3 min read