The Boston Celtics (20-6) travel to face off against the Sacramento Kings (16-9) on Wednesday, December 20th. This game will be played at Golden 1 Center. The Kings are coming off a win in their previous game, while the Celtics are looking to get back on track from a loss to the Wizards. Tip-off is set for 10:00 ET.

Celtics vs Kings

The Celtics Look To Bounce Back From A Loss

In their most recent matchup, the Celtics conveyed a message to the Warriors with a score of 132-126. The Celtics were leading the game going into the second half 65-62.

Coming into today’s game, the Celtics have an overall record of 20-6 and have gone 2-1 in their last three games. In their 26 games, the Celtics have gone 19-4 against teams from the Eastern Conference and have gone 1-2 in non-conference play.

Boston’s ATS record is currently below .500 at 11-13 for the season. Boston has covered the spread in two consecutive home games, while maintaining an ATS record of 9-4 at home as opposed to 2-9 on the road.

The Kings Are Coming Off A Win

The Kings notched a win against the Wizards in their most recent game, concluding with a score of 143-131. The Kings tipped off as -14-point favorites, but despite their 12 point victory, they couldn’t cover the spread. The over/under line for this matchup was set at 251.5 points, and the teams managed to exceed that total.

Coming into today’s game vs. the Celtics, the Kings are above .500 with a record of 16-9. In the Western Conference, they are in 4th place and are 1st in the Pacific division.

Sacramento arrives with an ATS record of 14-11 for the season up to this point. In their last two games as underdogs, the Kings have faced ATS losses, and they have a 10-9 record against the spread as favorites.

Celtics Offense Breakdown

Heading into play, the Celtics’ offense is rated 8th in the league in scoring, averaging 118 points per contest. So far, the Celtics are averaging 98.3 possessions per game, which places them below the NBA average. Even though they have preferred to slow the game down, the Boston offense is the 14th ranked team in made field goals per game.

Kings Offense Breakdown

For the season, the Sacramento offense is the 7th ranked unit in the NBA, at 118.2 points per contest. The Kings come into the game as one of the league’s better 3-point shooting teams, connecting at a rate of 15.4 made 3’s per game. If the Sacramento offense is going to continue to produce at a high level, they will need to do a better job taking care of the ball as they are turning the ball over at an above-average rate.

Celtics Team Defense

Boston’s defense has been playing well, ranking 3 in the NBA with 109.4 points allowed per game.

Inside the arc, the Celtics defense is giving up a shooting percentage of 50.1% and 36.6% from three-point territory.

Kings Team Defense

So far, the Kings defense is giving up 117.2 points per contest, which has them sitting 21 in the NBA. One thing to note, is they have given up more points than their season average in three straight matchups.

Opponents are hitting 55.2% of their two-point field goal attempts this season, and they’re also connecting on 37.8% of their three-point attempts.

Key Players For The Celtics And Kings

In today’s game, our projections have Jayson Tatum leading the Celtics with 21 points on 7/15 shooting from the field. For the season, he has been averaging 26.8 points per game, in addition to 8.7 rebounds.

As for Sacramento, De’Aaron Fox is projected to be the primary scorer for the Kings. Our forecast has him finishing the game with 21, and adding 4 rebounds. Throughout the season, he has maintained a 47.7% field goal shooting rate and is averaging 30.1 points per game.

Celtics vs Kings Trends

• Although Boston has a straight up record of 4-6 in their last ten road games, they have not held up as well vs the spread going 1-8-1. The team averaged 111 points per game in these games.
• Through their last ten home contests, the Kings offense has averaged 111 points per game while allowing an average of 115. Sacramento posted an overall record of 5-5 while going 5-5 ATS.
• Boston has done well both straight up and vs the spread as the underdog, going 3-0 SU and 3-0 ATS in their last three games.
• Looking back on the team’s last ten games as the favorite, the Kings have a straight up record of 7-3. Their record vs the spread in these games was 5-5.

 

Celtics vs Kings Prediction

 

Coming in as the underdogs at +2.5, we have the Celtics as the way to go on the point spread. Not only do we have them covering, but our projections show they have a good one of winning this one straight-up, if you’re looking for a higher payout on the moneyline.

Right now, the over/under line for the game is sitting at 236 and given that our model is projecting 219 points between the teams, we like the under.

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All odds are courtesy of Action247 Sportsbook. Good luck!!

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* All odds are provided by Action247 Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.**All views expressed are my own. My picks are my own and are not a guarantee, bet at your own risk.Action247 does not warrant the accuracy of completeness of the information, text, graphics, links or other items contained within these post.