On the eve of their regular season opener, the Detroit Pistons have released their first injury report of the 2026-27 campaign ahead of their matchup tomorrow afternoon with the Boston Celtics.
Tip-off between the two Eastern Conference squads is set for 3 pm, and the Pistons are expected to stick close to their standard rotation from the preseason given since a couple reserve players landed on the injury report, but Detroit is mostly healthy for their season opener.
Here is the latest on the expected depth chart for Tuesday’s long-awaited matchup:
Pistons-Celtics early injury report.
— Jacob Richman (@JacobHRichman) October 19, 2026
Taurean Prince questionable due to personal reasons. pic.twitter.com/Avmqq3dv9z
Right off the bat, the Pistons applied G-League designations to Isaac Jones and Ugonna Onyenso, so those big men will be inactive for the night as two-way players. As a result, the Detroit center position depth chart will stop at Tolu Smith for their game against the Celtics with Jalen Duren and Paul Reed occupying the first and second-string spots.
During the preseason, Jones played a bit more often than Onyenso, who the organization views as more of a developmental big man with tremendous rim-protecting potential. But since the Pistons had to hand out inactive roles to at least three players for the season opener, both players will take in Tuesday afternoon’s contest from the sidelines.
Moving down on the injury report, Taurean Prince is listed as questionable due to personal reasons, so he’s likely to be a game-time decision by tomorrow. If he’s unable to go, then the Pistons are expected to activate Elijah Harkless for the season opener. But since Prince’s status has a trickle-down impact on Harkless, the latter is also listed as questionable until Taurean’s status is sorted out.
For the most part, the Pistons are healthy entering the regular season, so they’ll have an opportunity to test out their A-team against the Celtics best offering. On Boston’s side of the equation, the Celtics announced that Devin Carter will be out due to injury/illness, though he was the lone inclusion for the Joe Mazzulla-led outfit.
Last season, the Pistons carved out a 3-1 advantage over the Celtics in the season series, but the two groups are in completely different spots this time around. Detroit shifted to a more perimeter-focused attack after some offseason turnover, while the Celtics opted to take their team in a different direction by cutting ties with Jaylen Brown during July in favor of Paul George.
Taking those changes into consideration, both the Pistons and Celtics still have the highest of expectations for how far each squad can go, so they each will be looking to make a statement— the first statement— of the new season tomorrow afternoon inside Little Caesars Arena.