Celtics (38-26) at Kings (31-31) Game #66 3/6/19

[FLCeltsFan]

at
Boston Celtics (38-26) at Sacramento Kings (31-31)
Wednesday, March 6, 2019
10:00 PM ET
Regular Season Game [HASH]66, Road Game [HASH]32
TV: NBCSB, NBCSCA, NBA-LP 764(DTV)/759(xfinity)
Radio: 98.5 Sports Hub, 1140 AM KHTK
Golden 1 Center



Probable Starters
PG SG SF PF C
PG: Kyrie Irving
SG: Marcus Smart
SF: Jayson Tatum
PF: Marcus Morris
C: Al Horford

Celtics Reserves
Terry Rozier
Jaylen Brown
Daniel Theis
Semi Ojeleye
Guerschon Yabusele
Brad Wanamaker
Robert Williams
Gordon Hayward

Injuries
None

Two Way Players
RJ Hunter
P. J. Dozier

Coach
Brad Stevens




Probable Kings Starters
PG SG SF PF C
PG: De'Aaron Fox
SG: Buddy Hield
SF: Bogdan Bogdanovic
PF: Harrison Barnes
C : Willie Cauley-Stein

Kings Reserves
Nemanja Bjelica
Corey Brewer
Alec Burks
Yogi Ferrell
Harry Giles III
Kosta Koufos
Frank Mason III
Caleb Swanigan

Injuries
Marvin Bagley III (knee) out

Two Way Players
Wenyan Gabriel
Troy Williams

Head Coach
Dave Joerger

Game Notes
The Celtics continue their West Coast road trip with a game against the Sacramento Kings. This is the first time these two teams are meeting this season. They will play again in Boston in 8 days on March 14. The Celtics swept the series 2-0 last season. Since they own the Kings draft pick, beating them in this game would have a double benefit.

The Celtics are playing on the second night of back to back games after a tough game against the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night. They have just one more back to back set this season on March 29 and 30. The Celtics are 4-5 on the second night of back to back games. They are 1-2 when both games are on the road.

The Celtics are 5th in the East, 2.5 games behind 4th place Philadelphia and 3 behind 3rd place Indiana. They are 14-16 on the road and 10-13 against Western Conference teams. The Kings are 9th in the West, 3 games out of the playoffs behind the 8th place Spurs. They have played well at home going 20-13. They are 4-6 in their last 10 games and are 14-7 against Eastern Conference teams. They are looking for their second straight win.

The Celtics are finally healthy, with no one on the injury list. Neither Aron Baynes nor Gordon Hayward are back to 100% but are playing their way back. Marvin Bagley III is out with a knee injury.

Key Matchups
vs
Marcus Smart vs Buddy Hield
Hield is averaging 20.9 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 2.3 assists. He is also shooting 44% from beyond the arc so Marcus will need to stay with him especially on the perimeter.

vs
Kyrie Irving vs De'Aaron Fox
Fox is averaging 17.2 points, 3.7 rebounds, 7.3 assists and 1.7 steals per game. He is a very quick point guard and Kyrie will need to stay with him on the breaks to prevent easy baskets.

Honorable Mention
Marcus Morris vs Harrison Barnes
Barnes is averaging 16.8 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists and can put up big games. Marcus needs to play tough defense as well as hopefully getting his own shot back on track.

Keys to the Game
Rebound - Much of rebounding is effort and desire. The Celtics have to put out extra effort to grab the rebounds on both ends of the court. By doing so, they limit the second chance points and fast breaks for the Kings and also give themselves extra possessions. The Celtics are averaging 44.9 rebounds per game to 45.4 rebounds per game for the Kings. The Celtics have to put out extra effort to beat the Kings to the boards.

Defense - The Celtics are 5th in the league with a defensive rating of 105.9. The Kings are 19th with a defensive rating of 109.8. Defense wins games. The Celtics must make defense a priority. The Celtics also must particularly guard the perimeter as the Kings shoot the fifth highest percentage (37.5%) from beyond the arc as a team.

Be Aggressive - The Celtics must be the more aggressive team. They have to go after loose balls, rebounds and also be more aggressive defensively. They have to be aggressive in going to the basket and also in moving the ball. The more aggressive team usually gets the calls and also the win. The Celtics have to play like the team that wants it more.

Move the Ball- The Celtics play best when they keep the ball moving to find the open man. When they tend to dribble too much or take quick shots, the rest of their game seems to become stagnant. The Celtics need to play team ball and keep the ball moving.

X-Factors
On the Road - The Celtics need to block out the distractions of playing on the road and a hostile crowd and focus on playing Celtics basketball. They need to come out strong to keep the crowd out of the game also.

Back to Back - After a tough game against the Warriors on Tuesday, the Celtics have to travel and play another tough game on Wednesday. Fatigue could come into play at the end of this game. Hopefully the Celtics will have enough energy to play tough and close the game out strong.

[FLCeltsFan]

Kyrie out tonight with a thigh contusion. Rozier likely to get the start in his place.

[jmost]

Good win. The Kings have some good young players and are fighting for a playoff spot, and there's often a hangover after a big win like we had over the Warriors. I'm happy to come out with another win. Interesting that Brad drew up the winning play for Gordon. Tells me he's gained confidence in him. We have a chance for a very nice road trip.

[afceltic]

Yes we do Jmost, sweep LA and then come home and play the Kings again. I would love to sweep the state of California as we are right back into the mix for the 3 seed. Philly has to go to Houston without Embid, so that is likely a loss and we would only be a game behind them and we are two games behind Indiana with two left head to head against them in the last week of the season, not to mention we still get to go to Philly and show them once again who their daddy is. The only issue as always is consistency, if we can somehow find a stretch of it the three seed is ours for the taking.

The only part that makes me leery of the three seed is getting Toronto in the second round since Brad has a career record in Toronto of 1-13 with that only win in OT by a point in 2015. We may match up better with Milwaukee.

[jmost]

I've kind of thinking the same thing, afceltic. Maybe our best path is to win the 4/5 matchup with Indy (with or without home court) and then play the Bucks while hoping Philly knocks off Toronto. But, IF Gordon is going to play well consistently, I don't really care who we play.

[Roadrunner]

My 80s quote of the day, "down with the King(s)"!

I think the East is like the game, paper-rock-scissors. I would prefer MIL, with the potential of PHI knocking out TOR.