Boston Celtics at Sacramento Kings 3/6/19: Starting Lineups, Matchup Preview, Betting Odds
Boston Celtics at Sacramento Kings Preview
The Boston Celtics are riding high after their big road win over the Golden State Warriors last night, but they had to stay in Northern California for a back-to-back with the Sacramento Kings.
The Celtics are 4-6 in their last 10 games, but their win last night could be just what they need to build some momentum at an important part of the season with just 17 games remaining on their schedule. They are 39-26 and are currently at fifth place in the Eastern Conference, 2.5 games behind the Philadelphia 76ers. The Kings are currently on the outside looking in on the playoff picture in the Western Conference. They are in ninth place with a 32-31 record. They won their last game, and like the Celtics, are 4-6 in their last 10. They are three games behind the San Antonio Spurs for eighth place. The Kings will likely be in a race to the finish with the Spurs and Los Angeles Clippers to decide which two teams make it into the postseason.
This will be the first meeting of the regular season series between the Celtics and Kings this season. In their last matchup, on March 25, 2018, the Celtics won 104-93, with Terry Rozier leading the Celtics with 33 points and Buddy Hield pacing the Kings with 21.
TV Schedule
Date: 03/06/19
Time: 10:00pm ET
Arena: Golden 1 Center, Sacramento CA
Channel: NBCSB, NBCSCA
Boston Celtics Starting Lineup
PG: Kyrie Irving
SG: Marcus Smart
SF: Jayson Tatum
PF: Marcus Morris
C: Al Horford
Celtics Analysis
The Boston Celtics bounced back from a loss to the Houston Rockets on Sunday night with a big win over the Western Conference’s number one team, the Golden State Warriors. Not only did the Celtics beat the Warriors, but they beat them handily 128-95 in one of the Warriors’ worst losses of the season.
The Celtics needed the win badly after losing five of their last six before they tipped off last night, something coach Brad Stevens addressed before the game.
“We haven’t played well together for a lot of the year, and that hasn’t been something that our guys have ran away from,” Stevens said. “They talk about it pretty openly and we got however many games left to try to right that because our window of opportunity after the regular season if we are fortunate enough to compete in the playoffs, it’s going to be very small if we are not really well connected by then.”
The Celtics certainly seemed well connected against the Warriors, showing a glimpse of the team most NBA spectators thought they would see before the start of the season. The Celtics outscored Golden State in ever quarter, scoring 73 first-half points, including a 41-point second quarter, and never looking back.
Gordon Hayward, who has shown flashes here and there but has mostly not looked like the player he was before his opening night injury last season, had one of his better games with 30 points and seven rebounds in just 28 minutes.
Despite Stevens limiting several of his starters’ minutes and not letting anyone play over 30 minutes due to the back-to-back. Boston obviously had no problem scoring, with Kyrie Irving, Jayson Tatum, Marcus Morris, and Jaylen Brown all scoring in double figures.
It’ll be key for the Celtics to take the momentum from last night forward, and they can’t look past a hungry Kings team that will be fighting for a playoff spot.
Celtics Quick Links: Celtics Starting Lineup, Celtics Roster, Celtics Depth Chart, Celtics Injuries, Celtics News, Celtics Schedule
Sacramento Kings Starting Lineup
PG: De’Aaron Fox
SG: Buddy Hield
SF: Bogdan Bogdanovic
PF: Harrison Barnes
C: Willie Cauley-Stein
Contents
Kings Analysis
The Kings ended their three-game skid with a 115-108 win over the New York Knicks on Monday night. They owe much of the win to a 34-point first quarter in which they also limited the Knicks to 25. Most of the rest of the game was very close, but the Kings did the work early to secure the win.
The Kings were led by Buddy Hield, who finished with 28 points and seven assists. Harrison Barnes had 22 points and 10 rebounds, and second-year big man Harry Giles came off the bench with a solid 17 point, seven rebound game.
Barnes has seemed to transition well to his new team and said that he focuses on defense with all of the scoring threats the Kings have.
“Coming here, I always said there are plenty of people to score the basketball, so that’s something that I don’t necessarily have to focus on,” Barnes said. “Rebounding and defending: Those are the things I try to do every night, and be able to get a win.”
A win tonight and a win on Saturday against the Knicks would go a long way to help the Kings narrow the gap with the Spurs.
Kings Quick Links: Kings Starting Lineup, Kings Roster, Kings Depth Chart, Kings Injuries, Kings News, Kings Schedule
Boston Celtics at Sacramento Kings Betting Odds
The Celtics are 3.5 point favorites to win tonight’s game on the road. Away from TD Garden, they have been 15-16 and are 34-19 as the favorite. The Kings are 19-13 at home and 17-29 as the underdog.
The over/under is 230 points and the Celtics are -165 on the moneyline after opening at -125.
Odds & Line Movement Links: Boston Celtics at Sacramento Kings, Vegas Odds (All NBA Games Today)
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Bet on Matchup
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