Preview: Boston Celtics vs Sacramento Kings

Fresh off arguably the most exciting and biggest win of the season, the Boston Celtics go back home to take on the Sacramento Kings. It may be Super Bowl Sunday but this game is a huge game. One reason is, there is a prop in Vegas about whether DeMarcus Cousins‘ points and rebounds minus 6.5 will be more or less than the yards Owen Daniels will have for the Denver Broncos. The other reason is, Boston is tied for third in the Eastern Conference with the Atlanta Hawks and could improve to 9-1 in their past 10 games with a win.

The Kings are on the cusp of the playoffs at 21-29 but rumors have gone around that head coach George Karl could be fired. Sacramento has been a lot better this season, but has also been very inconsistent. A big reason Sacramento has been better is because DeMarcus Cousins is having the best season of his career and the addition of Rajon Rondo, a former Celtic.

Rondo and Boston will have a blast from the past as Rondo returns home to take on new star point guard, Isaiah Thomas; leading us to the matchup of the game, the point guard battle.

After having a rough second half with the Dallas Mavericks last season, Rondo is leading the league in assists once again. He is averaging 11.7 assists per game, 11.9 points per game and only shooting 45.4 percent from the field, true Rajon Rondo numbers. He will have his hands full on defense though as Isaiah Thomas is the opposite of Rondo.

Thomas is one of the best scorers in the league, averaging 21.4 points a contest, although is also leading the team with 6.6 assists per game. Both players like to set up their teammates and I expect Rondo’s shooting to be on as he takes on his former team.

Boston is very good defensively and is second in the league at 9.6 steals per game. There’s good reason to think that the Celtics could cause problems for Rondo.

The X-Factor in this game is Amir Johnson. He had a tough matchup against Kevin Love the other night but will have an even tougher one on Sunday afternoon. DeMarcus Cousins is arguably the best big man in the league this season. He’s averaging a ridiculous 27.0 points per game and 11.3 rebounds per game, both fourth in the NBA. His defense has also been very good as he averages 1.39 steals and 1.37 blocks per contest. Cousins has been a monster all season and his added three-point shot just makes him that much more deadly. He is also fresh off a triple-double against the Brooklyn Nets.

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Johnson only recorded 14 minutes against the Cleveland Cavaliers due to foul trouble, so he should be fresh. All you can do with a player like Cousins is try to control him. Johnson will have his hands full but his fresh legs may help him. Boxing him out on rebounds to help limit extra possessions will be key, as well as not letting Cousins get any open shots.

The Kings are fresh off a terrible loss to the Brooklyn Nets. This is a game they should be up for as Boston is one of the top teams in the NBA and the Kings have been in a funk lately. Sacramento has lost six of their previous seven and there’s no reason to believe that should change on Sunday.

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Boston is clearly the superior team and as long as they play to their ability they should come out with another victory. Besides Cousins and Rudy Gay, the Kings don’t have a lot of scoring options. They are also not very deep and their bench has under performed this season. Sacramento has not been good as of late and unless they come out strong, this game could be over very quickly.

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