Game Preview: Sacramento Kings (21-29) at Boston Celtics (30-22)
The Sacramento Kings (21-29) will be in Boston to take on the Celtics (30-22) today on Super Bowl Sunday. The Kings are coming off a tough loss in Brooklyn to the Nets on Friday night 119-128, a game in which defensive woes continued to prove to be the Kings Achilles heel.
The Celtics last played on Friday night as well, earning a victory against the Cleveland Cavaliers 104-103. The Celtics had a solid showing from Evan Turner, who had 12 rebounds to go along with 19 points. But the big storyline from that game was Avery Bradley’s game-winning three at the buzzer to give the Celtics the victory.
Solid perimeter shooting is one of the Celtics’ strengths and it will pose quite a test for the Kings who allow the most 3 pointers per game in the league.
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The probable starters for Sacramento today are Rajon Rondo, Marco Belinelli, Omri Casspi, DeMarcus Cousins, and Willie Cauley-Stein. Both Rudy Gay and Ben McLemore are doubtful for the game.
Gay suffered an ankle sprain early in the game against the Nets and never returned to the game. McLemore has been dealing with a wrist injury the past few weeks which have kept him from seeing full-time action.
Cauley-Stein’s play in 2016 is something the Kings can use as a source of happiness. He has become more of an offensive weapon and he still continues to be a huge defensive presence underneath the basket. In the loss to the Nets, Cauley-Stein had 16 points, 1 block and 4 defensive rebounds.
This game will all come down to how well the Kings will respond to being in a must-win situation.
Will they “roll up their sleeves” and prove that they aren’t done yet and can still contend for a playoff spot, or will they begin to become frustrated on the court when shots don’t fall, fouls aren’t called, and the other team is shooting lights out?
Hopefully, the Kings will realize that this is the NBA, a game where everything can change in one night. But you have to keep playing basketball and you have to take it one game at a time.
The last time these two teams met, the Celtics were able to get the victory in Mexico City 114-97. Both Isaiah Thomas and Kelly Olynyk had good production in that game with both of them recording 21 points. The Kings found most of their productivity through Rudy Gay, someone who most likely the Kings will be without this time around, who contributed 16 points to the Kings total.