at
Boston Celtics (20-31) at Sacramento Kings (18-34)
Friday, February 20, 2015
10:00 PM ET
Regular Season Game #52, Road Game #25
TV: CSNNE, CSNCA, NBA-LP 751(xfinity)
Radio: WZLX 100.7, 1140 AM
Sleep Train Arena
Probable Celtics StartersPG
SG
SF
PF
C
Marcus Smart / Avery Bradley / Evan Turner / Brandon Bass / Tyler Zeller
Celtics ReservesGerald Wallace
Jae Crowder
James Young
Phil Pressey
Shavlik Randolph
New Guys who may or may not playIsaiah Thomas
Jonas Jerebko
Gigi Datome
InjuriesKelly Olynyk (ankle) questionable
Jared Sullinger (foot) out
Head CoachBrad Stevens
Probable Kings StartersPG
SG
SF
PF
C
Darren Collison/ Ben McLemore/ Rudy Gay/ Jason Thompson/ DeMarcus Cousins
Kings ReservesOmri Casspi
Reggie Evans
Ryan Hollins
Carl Landry
Ray McCallum
Nik Stauskas
Derrick Williams
New Guy who may or may not playAndre Miller
InjuriesDarren Collison (hip) questionable
Eric Moreland (shoulder) out
Head CoachGeorge Karl
Game Notes The Celtics resume the second half of their season with a visit to the Sacramento Kings. Both teams made last minute trades at the deadline and may be a bit short handed. This is the second and final game this season between these two teams. Boston won the first meeting in Boston 106-84. In that game, both Jared Sullinger and Marcus Smart got under DeMarcus Cousins' skin resulting in two technicals and his ejection from the game.
In that game, Cousins threw Smart to the floor after the latter had aggressively boxed him out and then tried to run through him on a pick. Cousins threatened to “get him after the game,” but nothing of that sort happened. It’ll be interesting to see how this game plays out. This will be George Karl's first game as the Kings head coach and Cousins and his teammates will probably be trying to impress their new coach.
In the last game, Jared Sullinger kept Cousins under control, while coming up big for the Celtics. Sully had 20 points and 11 rebounds while holding Cousins to 11 points and 11 rebounds. Sullinger will miss this game with a stress reaction in his foot and the Celtics will definitely miss him. Kelly Olynyk is also expected to miss the game with the ankle injury that has kept him out the past 11 games.
For Sacramento, their point guard position is in question. They traded their back up point guard, Ramon Sessions for Andre Miller. Their starting point guard, Darren Collison has missed the past 3 games with a hip flexor and is listed as questionable for this game. Andre Miller may or may not be in uniform and if Collison can't play, their third string point guard, Ray McCallum may get the start.
A bit of ironic history from Sean Grande: On 3/16/12, the Celtics lost in Sacramento by 25, the 4th worst loss of the era. The Kings best players? Marcus Thornton and Isaiah Thomas.
Key Matchups vs
Tyler Zeller vs DeMarcus Cousins
Cousins is the Kings best player and a force on both defense and offense. He is averaging 23.8 points, 12.5 rebounds and 1.7 blocks. The Celtics will miss Jared's defense on him. The likely candidate to start in Sully's place is Tyler Zeller, who will have his hands full with Cousins. We may even get a Shavlik Randolph sighting.
vs
Evan Turner vs Rudy Gay
Gay is playing well for the Kings, averaging 19.9 points, 5.9 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.06 steals. Turner will have his hands full trying to contain him as well as making him work on the defensive end.
Honorable Mention Brad Stevens vs George Karl
Both coaches have had plenty of time to prepare for this game and both coaches will have the challenge of filling in for injured or traded players. Karl will be coaching his first game for the Kings and that could give him a boost as they try to impress their new coach.
Keys to the GameRebound - 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. It will be even more important for every player to make an extra effort on the boards to make up for their best rebounder being out.
Defense - The Celtics tend to allow way too many open looks and easy points. They have to make playing defense as a team a priority. Defense not only wins championship, it wins games as well. They have to defend the paint to keep Cousins especially away from the basket as well as closing out on the 3 point shooters.
Start Strong and Play 48 Minutes - The Celtics have had very sluggish first quarters in their past few games. They need to come out strong and get off to a good start. It's tough to dig out from a big hole when they start off slowly. They also have to keep their effort up for 48 minutes and can't slack off in the middle and have to play hard until the final buzzer.
Be Aggressive - The Celtics must be the more aggressive team. They have to go after loose balls, rebounds and also be more aggressive defensively. The more aggressive team usually gets the calls and also the win.
X-Factors Focus and Short HandedThe Celtics are a young team, even younger than they were before the break, and young teams struggle with focus on the road. They have to work to keep their focus throughout the game. They can move past the distractions of the trade deadline and just focus on playing hard. Both teams may be short handed with players traded probably not playing and others out with injury.
Topic: Celtics (20-31) at Kings (18-34) Game #52 2/20/15 (Read 49685 times)