Celtics (23-19) at Kings (14-29) 3/16

[FLCeltsFan]

  at 
Boston Celtics (23-19) at Sacramento Kings (14-29)
Friday, March 16
10:00 PM ET
Regular Season Game #43, Road Game #19
TV:  CSNNE, CSNCA, NBA-LP 762/763 (DTV)
Radio:  WEEI, KHTK
Power Balance Pavillion Arena 




Probable Starters
PG SG SF PF C
Rajon Rondo/  Ray Allen/  Paul Pierce/  Brandon Bass/  Kevin Garnett

Boston Reserves
Mickael Pietrus
JaJuan Johnson
Avery Bradley
Etwaun Moore
Keyon Dooling
Sasha Pavlovic
Marquis Daniels
Greg Stiemsma

Injured
Jermaine O'Neal (wrist) out
Chris Wilcox (heart)  out





Probable Starters
PG SG SF PF C
Isaiah Thomas/ Marcus Thornton /Tyreke Evans /Jason Thompson/ DeMarcus Cousins

Reserves
John Salmons
Chuck Hayes
Francisco Garcia
Jimmer Fredette
Donte Greene
JJ Hickson
Travis Outlaw
Hassan Whiteside
Tyler Honeycut

Injuries
Tyreke Evans (ankle) day to day

Team Connections
DeMarcus Cousins, Chuck Hayes and Rajon Rondo all attended the University of Kentucky
Marcus Thornton and Brandon Bass attended Louisiana State University
John Salmons and Keyon Dooling were teammates in Milwaukee during the 2010-11 season
Kings Assistant Coach Bobby Jackson and Brandon Bass were teammates in New Orleans during the 2006-07 season…
Jimmer Fredette and Celtics President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge both attended Brigham Young University.

Game Notes
This is the first and only meeting between these two teams this season.  This is the 6th game of a 9 game home stand for the Kings.  They won the first two games but have dropped their last 3, allowing an average of 115 points per game in the losses.

Neither team was active at the trade deadline but the Celtics still are thin up front and for the Kings, Evans turned his ankle in their last game and is listed as day to day.  The Celtics can finally relax and just play basketball with the trade deadline behind them.  They have gone 2-1 on their 8 game road trip so far. 

Both teams were off on Thursday.  The Celtics are playing in the first of back to back games and will play in Denver on Saturday.   The Celtics are in the 7th spot in the East, but are just 1/2 game behind Atlanta for the 6th spot and are 1 1/2 games back of Philly for the 4th spot.  They need to concentrate on getting every win to move up in the standings and avoid the Bulls and Heat in the first round.  The Kings are in the next to last spot in the West and are playing for ping pong balls at this point.

If the Celtics come out focused and play well, they should get this game.  They wanted to stay together for one last run and that run starts here. 

Key Matchups
  vs 
Rajon Rondo vs Isaiah Thomas 
With the trade deadline in the rear view mirror, Rondo is now free to focus solely on basketball and getting his team into their offense.  He should have a decided advantage on both ends of the court against the King's rookie point guard. 

  vs 
Kevin Garnett vs DeMarcus Cousins. 
KG has been playing very well and was key to the win against the Warriors.  Cousins is a tough and physical player but he's also a young player and KG needs to be just as physical and get into his head. 

Keys to the Game
Defense -  Defense is a key to every game and it will be the key to winning the championship.  Their defense was on vacation vs the Warriors and they allowed way too many easy baskets and scores in the paint.  The Celtics have to play The Celtics are 3rd in the league in points allowed (90.1 ppg) while the Kings are last, allowing 103.3 points per game.   

Crash the boards - The Kings are a good rebounding team, ranking 10th in the league with 43.0 rebounds per game.  The Celtics are still last with 38.6 rebounds per game.  Much of rebounding is desire and effort and the Celtics need to put that effort out to rebound as a team.

Effort and Focus - The Celtics no longer have the trade deadline as a distraction and so they need to put their full focus into winning games and improving as a team.  Danny put his faith in this group and they need to reward him with their best effort every game.  They have to come out focused and keep their focus for 48 minutes. 

X-Factor
Road Weary
The Celtics may be getting road weary half way through their 8 game road trip.  But this is a game they can and should win if they give their full effort and focus on playing as a team. 

[jdz101]

Dooling will be skulking along the sideline waiting for Doc to provide him his PRECIOUS minutes.

[Celtics18]

Those photos of the probable starters are really nice to see.  Weight lifted; Go get 'em, guys!!!

[j804]

I wish I could have made it to this game....

[theswitch]

Is that really the starting lineup they use? Paul should be able to score literally every time down the floor if Tyreke Evans is guarding him. That's a joke.

[esel1000]

the cousins/kg matchup is pivotal... other than that im not really worried

[raynman]

Dang, I thought we had Hickson..

[jdz101]

Is that really the starting lineup they use? Paul should be able to score literally every time down the floor if Tyreke Evans is guarding him. That's a joke.

Yeah they put themselves in a stupid hole giving marcus thornton 35 million when they had tyreke there. Both are definitely suited to the shooting guard position so if they want to start them both, one has to play out of position. And they probably wouldnt want either of those guys playing point as that would be a disaster.

[Employee8]

This is a battle for royalty and the Celtics will be the one to claim it!  I laugh at Sacramento for falsely claiming the throne much like Wormtongue claiming the kingdom of Rohan!  The Celtics will enter the halls of the capital and dispel the "Kings".  DeMarcus Cousins as their First Captain is no leader and will not be able to stand up to the true Captain in the Truth.  KG will be a loyal servant and press the issue against the Kings.  It will be a short volley and the green will runneth over like the Spirits of the Dead ran over the battleground at Minas Tirith and completely suffocate the enemy.  Legolas, Gimli and Aragorn...I mean KG, Pierce and Ray Allen will make quick work of them and let their little soldiers (the bench) dominate the game so they can focus on their next task, the Nuggets.

[azzenfrost]

I suppose it's wishful thinking to hope for a rout and starters getting enough rest for the Denver game.

[apc]

we can go small, and our lineup will be bigger than their lineup.

[theswitch]

I suppose it's wishful thinking to hope for a rout and starters getting enough rest for the Denver game.

I wouldn't bet on it

[Celts Fan 92]

So we just gon be comfortable wit KG guarding Demarcus Cousins? smh so stupid not to make 1 deal at the deadline i think the game is close due to their poor shot selection tho nd we pull this one out

[Who]

The Celtics should absolutely dominate all three perimeter positions. Isiah Thomas and Marcus Thornton are marginal players and Tyreke is horribly misused as a small forward.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Boston have advantages at the four (Bass over JT) and five (Garnett vs Cousins) too ... although much will depend on which DeMarcus Cousins shows up on the day.

The Kings are getting very little off their bench so Boston's vulnerable second unit shouldn't be taken advantage of.

Should be an easy win

[GronkSpike]

Can someone Teach Me How to Jimmer?