The Sacramento Kings (7-12) and Boston Celtics (10-8) will face off at Mexico City Arena. Action begins at 10:00 pm ET on Thursday, Dec. 3 and can be seen on CNE and CSA.
The Kings enter this game hoping for similar success after topping the Mavericks 112-98 on Monday. DeMarcus Cousins was the game’s leading scorer with 31 points on 10-for-24 shooting. The Celtics, meanwhile, are coming off a 105-95 win against the Heat on Monday. Avery Bradley was the team’s top scorer, registering 25 points on 9-for-15 shooting.
There could be a fair amount of transition offense in a game that features two of the league’s more up-tempo teams. Sacramento is ranked second in the NBA in possessions per game (102.2), while Boston is fourth (101.1).
The odds for the Kings and Celtics are even, while the Over/Under (O/U) is sitting at 210 points. The Kings have gone 7-12 Straight Up (SU) and 9-10 Against The Spread (ATS). They are 5-3 SU and ATS against the Eastern Conference. Sacramento is one of the league’s top scoring teams off turnovers with an average of 18.6 points per game.
As for their opponent, the Celtics have 10-8 SU and 9-9 ATS records. The Celtics are an unselfish team with an average of 24.3 assists per game, ranking fourth in the NBA. Moving on to Boston’s defense, the Celtics are a terror in the passing lanes, averaging an NBA-best 11.3 steals per game. Boston is the second-best team in the league at scoring points off turnovers with 21.6 per game.
These two will be squaring off for the first time this season. In their previous head-to-head meeting, Sacramento came out on top, but the win was not enough to overtake Boston in the recent head-to-head series. Its record is now 4-6 SU over the most recent 10 meetings. The teams are even ATS, with a 5-5 record.
Predictions: SU Winner – Bos, ATS Winner – Bos, O/U – Over
Notes
Sacramento is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games at home.
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Sacramento’s last 7 games at home.
Sacramento is 4-11 SU in its last 15 games when playing Boston.
Sacramento is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Boston.
Sacramento is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Boston.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Sacramento’s last 5 games when playing at home against Boston.
Boston ranks ninth in points per game with 102.0, while Sacramento ranks 29th in points allowed with an average of 108.5 given up.
Boston scores an average of 100.2 points per away game (ranked 11th). Sacramento ranks 26th in points allowed per home game with 104.9.
In games where they allow fewer than 100 points, the Boston Celtics are an outstanding 10-1. In games where they score fewer than 100 points, the Sacramento Kings have an underachieving record of 1-6.
The Boston Celtics are winless this season (0-7) in games where they have allowed at least 100 points. The Sacramento Kings have an even record of 6-6 when they hit triple digits.
The Kings have a defensive rating of 106.6 (ranked 26th), while the Celtics rank 19th for their offensive rating of 100.8.
Sacramento has an average field goal percentage of 45.4% (ranked sixth). Boston is a poor 2-5 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
Sacramento attempts an average of 22.0 three pointers per game, and Boston attempts 28.0 per game. In games where the teams have 25 or more three point attempts, the Kings are even at 3-3 while the Celtics have a 7-6 record.
The Sacramento Kings rank 13th with an assist to turnover ratio of 1.52. The Boston Celtics have a higher A/TO (1.54), ranking 12th.
The Sacramento Kings rebound 44.5 times per game and are ranked 15th. Ranked 19th, the Boston Celtics rebound 43.9 times per game.
The Boston Celtics rank third in offensive rebounding, while the Sacramento Kings rank 21st in defensive rebounding.
Sacramento is among the best in forcing turnovers, with opponents averaging a TOV% of 15.3% (ranked 10th). Boston has a 7-5 record SU when its TOV% reaches 15.3% or greater.
