Portland Trail Blazers vs Boston Celtics Predicted Starting Lineups and Depth Chart for Mar. 5 | NBA 2024-25 Season

The Boston Celtics will play the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday, March 5, 2025, for their first game of the 2024-25 NBA season. The Trail Blazers have failed to win a single game against the Celtics since January 21, 2022, and are currently 1-4 in their last five meetings. The Celtics have been mostly successful this season and are currently second in the Eastern Conference with a record of 43-18.

On the other hand, the Trail Blazers have struggled to compete and currently sit at 12th in the Western Conference with a record of 28-34. Unsurprisingly, Jayson Tatum and the 2024 NBA Finals MVP Jaylen Brown have been the Celtics’ biggest contributors this season.

Tatum leads the team in scoring, rebounds and assists, recording 26.8 points, 8.8 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game. Meanwhile, Jaylen Brown averages 23.2 points, 6 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game while playing 35.1 minutes on average.

The Trail Blazers, their opponents for tonight, don’t have any definitive stars on the team with no one averaging more than 20+ points per game. However, Anfernee Simons comes close with 19 points, 2.8 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game. The gulf in quality between these two teams might be too big to overcome for the Trail Blazers tonight.

Portland Trail Blazers vs. Boston Celtics Injury Reports for Mar. 5

Portland Trail Blazers injury report

The Portland Trail Blazers will have to make some significant adjustments for tonight’s game. Deandre Ayton (left calf), Matisse Thybulle (right ankle), and Robert Williams III (left knee) are all listed as out. Furthermore, Jerami Grant (right knee) and Justin Minaya are also listed as questionable. So, both the bench and the starting lineup will take some hits for the game against the Celtics.

Boston Celtics injury report

In comparison, the Celtics don’t have any players listed as out for tonight’s game. However, Jaylen Brown (illness) and Jayson Tatum (right shoulder) are listed as questionable, while Jrue Holiday (right hand) and Kristaps Porzingis (illness) are listed as doubtful.

Portland Trail Blazers vs. Boston Celtics Starting Lineups and Depth Charts for Mar. 5

Portland Trail Blazers starting lineup and depth charts

The Portland Trail Blazers are expected to start Anfernee Simons, Toumani Camara, Deni Avdija, Kris Murray and Donovan Clingan.

Point Guard	Shooting Guard	Small Forward	Power Forward	Center
Anfernee Simons	Toumani Camara	Deni Avdija	Kris Murray	Donovan Clingan
Scoot Henderson	Dalano Banton	Shaedon Sharpe	Jabari Walker	Duop Reath
		Rayan Rupert

Boston Celtics starting lineup and depth charts

The Boston Celtics are expected to start Derrick White, Payton Pritchard, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and Al Horford.

Point Guard	Shooting Guard	Small Forward	Power Forward	Center
Derrick White	Payton Pritchard	Jaylen Brown	Jayson Tatum	Al Horford
JD Davison	Baylor Scheierman	Sam Hauser	Drew Peterson	Luke Kornet
Craig Porter Jr.		Jordan Walsh		Xavier Tillman