Gameday Preview: Celtics Look to Take Down the Kings
Creator: Rich Pedroncelli, Rich Pedroncelli | Credit: AP | Copyright: Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Coming off of a hard-fought win against the short-handed Warriors last night, the Celtics look to carry that momentum into tonight's matchup with the Sacramento Kings.
Off to a (9-11) start on the season, the Kings are attempting to bounce back from their early-season woes. Winning their last four of five, with De'Aaron Fox putting up 38 points and 12 assists in their last outing, the young Kings team may be looking to turn a corner. Harrison Barnes and Buddy Hield have also been key contributors to the recent success of the team. Averaging 16 points per game apiece, the two are becoming more of a veteran presence for their young core as of late. In spite of things working in favor of the Kings on the offensive end, they're currently ranked 29th in points allowed.
Continuing their stint out west, the Celtics are in hopes of notching another point in the win column. After back-to-back losses, the C's were able to pull out a team win last night. Four of five starters ended the game scoring in double figures. The team was led by Jason Tatum with 27 points, and Kemba Walker added 19 points to help give the team a needed boost late in the game. With Walker only playing seven games on the season, it looks as if he's starting to bring himself out of his recent shooting slump. These two, along with the All-Star play of Jaylen Brown and the recent defensive ability of Daniel Theis, should put the club in a great position if they can remain consistent.
Between both teams, five players will be missing out on tonight's action. The Kings will be without PF Nemanja Bjelica (back) and for the Celtics PG Kemba Walker (knee injury management), PG Payton Pritchard (knee), PG Marcus Smart (calf), and Romeo Langford (wrist) will all be sitting this one out.
Make sure to tune in to our pregame show, the Banner Town Build Up, 30 minutes before the game on Twitter and YouTube @GuyBostonSports. The Celtics and Kings tip-off at 10:00 PM EST on NBC Sports Boston.
