The Celtics close out their Western road trip with a stop in Sacramento to take on the Kings. This is the second and final meeting between these two teams this season. The Celtics won the first meeting 122-104 in Boston on November 25 but these definitely aren’t the Kings that were the easy win of years past. The Celtics won the series 2-0 last season.
The Celtics have been off since their 1 points loss to the Jazz on Saturday. The Kings, on the other hand, are playing in the second of back to back games and their 3rd game in 4 nights. The Kings are 7-5 on the second night of back to back games. In the Sacramento era, the Celtics are 43-29 against the Kings and 15-22 in Sacramento. They are 188-119 all time against the Kings and 68-75 all time on the road.
This is the final game of the Celtics’ 6 game road trip. They are 3-2 so far on the trip. They will return home to face the Pacers and Spurs before heading out for a 2 game road trip, including a very important game in Milwaukee against the first place Bucks. The Kings just returned home from a 4 game road trip where they went 4-0. This is the first game of a 4 game home stand for them.
The Celtics had dropped to third in the East behind the 76ers. However, the 76ers lost in double OT to the Bulls on Monday and that puts the Celtics back into 2nd, half a game ahead of the 76ers. The Celtics are 2.5 games behind the first place Bucks. The Celtics are 23-14 on the road and 5-5 in their last 10 games. They are 20-7 against Western Conference foes and they are coming off a loss.
The Sacramento Kings are 3rd in the West. They are 4.5 games behind 1st place Denver. They are 1 game behind 2nd place Memphis, who won on Monday, and 5 games ahead of 4th place Phoenix. They are 21-14 at home and 7-3 in their last 10 games. They are 16-13 against Eastern Conference opponents. They had won their last 3 games before losing to the Jazz on Monday night.
Al Horford (back) and Marcus Smart (hip) and Robert Williams III (hamstring) all missed Saturday’s game against the Jazz but all three are no longer on the injury list. I’m expecting that if Robert Williams returns for this game, he will likely come off the bench and face a minutes restriction. Danilo Gallinari (ACL) and Payton Pritchard (heel) remain out for the Celtics. Kevin Huerter (knee) is questionable for the Kings. If Huerter returns, he will likely start at shooting guard.
Probable Celtics Starters
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