Tuesday night features a battle of East versus West powerhouses as the Boston Celtics (49-23, 3rd in the East) take on the Sacramento Kings (43-27, 2nd in the West). The Kings will host this one at the Golden 1 Center, with tipoff scheduled for 10:00 pm ET.
The Celtics are the favorite in this one despite playing on the road. They are -184 to win, while the Kings’ moneyline sits at +154. The spread features Sacramento as 4.5-point underdogs (-112), and the over/under for total points is 238.5 (-110).
Boston Hopes To Make Final Push In The East
At 49-23, the Boston Celtics sit just 2.5 games back of the Milwaukee Bucks. With the chance for a higher seed in striking distance, Boston knows every game down the stretch is critical for their playoff seeding.
Offensively, the Celtics rank fourth in the NBA, averaging 117.6 points per game (114.8 on the road. They are led by forward Jayson Tatum, who is averaging 30 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 4.7 assists per game.
Jaylen Brown is also having a remarkable season. He is averaging 26.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.2 steals per game over 60 games.
Other contributors include Malcolm Brogdon (14.7 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists), Derrick White (12 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.9 assists), and Marcus Smart (11.3 points, 3.2 rebounds, 6.4 assists).
Sacramento Trying To Hold Off The Grizzlies
While the Sacramento Kings sit four games behind the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference, they are tied with the Memphis Grizzlies at 43-27. While the Kings currently hold the tiebreaker, they also know that a poor stretch could have them slide down the standings.
Luckily for Kings’ fans, they have been red hot as of late. They have won eight of their last 10, three in a row, and they have gone 21-14 at home this season.
The Kings are also the best-scoring offense in the NBA, averaging 121.1 points per game. At home, that number improves to 124.2.
Leading the offensive charge is De’Aaron Fox, who is averaging 25.3 points on 51.3% shooting. He is also averaging 4.3 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game.
Domantas Sabonis (19.2 points, 12.5 rebounds, 7.2 assists), Kevin Huerter (15 points, 3.2 rebounds), Harrison Barnes (15 points, 4.7 rebounds), Malik Monk (13.7 points, 4 assists), and Keegan Murray (11.7 points, 4.6 rebounds) are also having great years. It is worth noting that Huerter is out for this one as he deals with a leg injury.
Take Sacramento And The Points
Looking at the trends, Boston is 7-3 in their last 10 games against the Kings, but they are just 4-5-1 against the spread in that span. They are also 5-4 in their last nine games as the favorite.
For Sacramento, they are 7-3 against the spread and 8-2 overall in their last 10 games. They are also 2-1 in their last three games as the underdog.
While Boston might have the better top end talent, Sacramento has shown they have a great team, especially on the offensive side. This game is likely to be high scoring, and especially at home, the Kings have the firepower to keep this one close. For that reason, take Sacramento and the 4.5 points (-112).
