The Boston Celtics continue their California trip with a game against the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.
The Celtics were still playing the Golden State Warriors as of this writing but regardless of the result, Boston is till way far from the form that brought them all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals last season. The Celtics are now healthy but they can’t seem to get anything going for them as they’ve lost four of their last five games entering Tuesday’s games.
Kyrie Irving leads Boston with 23.4 points and 6.9 assists per game. Jayson Tatum is scoring 16.1 points and grabbing 6.3 rebounds per game while Al Horford is putting up 13.1 points and 6.8 rebounds per contest. Marcus Morris is contributing 14.2 points and 6.1 rebounds per outing. Jaylen Brown and Gordon Hayward round up Boston’s double-digit scorer at 12.7 and 10.7 points per game, respectively.
Boston ranks 16th in team scoring at 112.0 points per game. The Celtics are tied for 7th overall in assists with 26.1 dimes per contest while the men in green are also 19th off the glass with 44.9 boards grabbed per outing. Boston has the 5th best scoring defense in the league at 106.8 points per game allowed.
Celtics
-105
Kings
-115
Odds from betonline.ag as of 3/06/19
The Sacramento Kings started the season strong but have sputtered as of late to fall out of the playoff picture. The Kings have lost four out of their last six games and as of Tuesday morning, they are three games behind the San Antonio Spurs for that final playoff spot in the Western Conference. With games starting to run out, the Kings need to get out of their funk as soon as possible. Facing a struggling Boston team at home could be a good start.
Buddy Hield leads Sacramento’s scoring attack with 21.0 points per game. Hield is also grabbing 5.2 rebounds and issuing 2.4 assists per game for the Kings. De’Aaron Fox has been key to Sacramento as the second-year guard is averaging 17.2 points and 7.2 assists per game. Bogdan Bogdanovic is helping out with 14.7 points and 4.0 assists per game while Willie Cauley-Stein is scoring 12.4 points and hauling down a team-best 8.9 rebounds. Newcomer Harrison Barnes is chipping in 12.7 points per game as well.
Sacramento is 9th in the league in team scoring at 113.9 points per game and they are ranked also 9th in assists with 25.6 dimes per contest. The Kings are 15th in rebounding at 45.3 boards per outing and Sacramento has the 4th worst scoring defense in the NBA at 115.1 points per game allowed.
Entering Tuesday’s games, Boston is 3-7 SU in its last 10 games played and the Celtics aer 1-3 SU in their last four road games. Sacramento is 4-6 in its last 10 games played and the Kings are 3-3 SU in their last six home games played. Head to head, the Celtics are 7-3 SU in their last 10 games against the Kings.
The Celtics have struggled lately at 1-5 SU in their last six games played. Entering Tuesday’s game with the Warriors, Boston has also lost three road games in a row. What’s perplexing about the Celtics’ struggles is the fact that they are 100% healthy with no player on the injured list.
We did something Tuesday night that no other team has done to these Warriors, and we’re looking to build off of it heading into Wednesday in Sacramento. pic.twitter.com/UvQtvYNZkS
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) March 6, 2019
The Sacramento Kings have struggled since the All-Star break as well. Sacramento had dropped four out of their last six games to fall outside the playoff picture for now. Buddy Hield and company are an elite scoring team but on defense, they are one of the worst in the league at #27.
It’s hard to place your bet on the Celtics right now given their current form. But just the fact that Boston is 100% healthy makes them a dangerous opponents for any team. We know what that team is capable of doing and despite their struggles, they can snap out of them just like that. I think Boston’s desperation brings out the best in them. This is a match-up which Boston has dominated in the last 10 games so I’m betting they break out of their slump here.
I’m picking the Boston Celtics to beat the Sacramento Kings on 3/6/19.
Heading to Tuesday’s encounter with the Warriors, the Celtics are 4-6 ATS in their last 10 games played and Boston is 2-2 ATs in their last four games away from home. The Kings are 6-4 ATS in their last 10 games played and Sacramento is 3-3 ATS in their last six home games played. Head to head, the Celtics are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 meetings versus the Kings.
Celtics
+1 (-110)
Kings
-1 (-110)
Odds from betonline.ag as of 3/06/19
Boston is 0-6 ATS in their last six games against the Pacific Division, 0-4 ATS in their last four games against the Western Conference and 1-4 ATS in their last five games overall. The Kings are 7-2 ATS in their last nine home games against an opponent with a losing road record, 4-1 ATS in their last five games against an opponent with a winning SU record and 11-3 ATS in their last 14 home games. The trends point to the Kings but remember this is a pick’em game. I know the Celtics are struggling right now and are playing back to back games but we’re getting a fully healthy Boston team at +1. I’ll take that, betting that they end their struggles here in this game.
Prediction: Celtics +1
Prior to Tuesday’s games, the total has gone under in six out of the last 10 games played by the Celtics. Boston has seen the total go under in three out of their last four road games played. The under is 7-3 in the last 10 games played by the Kings. The total has gone under in five out of the last six home games played by Sacramento.
Celtics
O 229 -110
Kings
U 229 -110
Odds from betonline.ag as of 3/06/19
Eight out of Boston’s last nine road games have hit under while the under is also 8-2 in Sacramento’s last 10 games versus an opponent with a losing road record. Boston’s defense should control the pace and win this game for them.
Prediction: Under 229
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