How we see it goin' down: Celtics vs Kings

Tip: 7:30PM Court: TD Garden Watch it: CSN Hear it: WEEI

Referees: Bennett Salvatore, Violet Palmer and Derek Richardson

Spread: BOS -7.0

The Matchup


Record: 21-23	Record: 17-29
At home: 14-9	On road: 5-17
Streak: Won 1	Streak: Won 1

Leaders	Leaders
Buckets: Pierce (18.7 ppg)	Buckets: DeMarcus Cousins (17.4 ppg)
Boards: Garnett (7.3 rpg)	Boards: Cousins (10.2 rpg)
Dimes: Rondo (11.1 apg)	Dimes: Isaiah Thomas (3.2 apg)

For the Stat Geeks:	For the Stat Geeks:
Offensive Rating: 101.7 (28th NBA)	Offensive Rating: 104.4 (16th NBA)
Defensive Rating: 103.2 (7th NBA)	Defensive Rating: 111.1 (30th NBA)
Pace: 91.1 (19th NBA)	Pace: 92.2 (10th NBA)

Last time

I buried the Celtics in a fancy casket following a 118-96 loss last month. It was the first time we hit rock bottom this season. The mediocre Isaish Thomas torched the defenseless Celtics for 27 points and DeMarcus Cousins dropped at triple-double. On the bright side, the Kings have lost 4 straight in Boston.

This time

Get it to: Paul Pierce

I don’t think the Celtics will have much trouble getting the ball to Pierce, because he’s going to have it in his hands a lot. With Rajon Rondo out and no true point guard in the back court, Pierce is going to play point forward. The Kings will counter with John Salmons, a once above-average defender who has lost a few steps in recent years. Pierce generally thrives in this role. Watch out for the triple-double tonight.

Gotta stop: DeMarcus Cousins

Despite averaging 9.7 points, 4.7 boards and 4.0 turnovers in his last three games, Cousins remains the Kings biggest weapon. His length and athleticism pose a major problem for the Celtics front line.

The Wild Card: The new backcourt

Avery Bradley and Courtney Lee will likely start tonight. Sure, we’ll see a lot of over-dribbling when either one is running sets, but the key to their success will be getting easy baskets as a result of suffocating defense and ball pressure. Another plus – the Kings are one of the worst defensive teams in the league. There’s no better team to start a new offense against than Sacramento.