Celtics Trying to Get Back on Track vs Kings

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Boston Celtics (27-4) at Sacramento Kings (7-23)
Sunday, December 28
9:00 PM ET
Game #32, Road Game #14
TV: CSN CA, CSN HD, NBA LP 754
Arco Arena

Game Thread     l     Chat

Kings Blog:   Sactown Royalty    

The Celtics have lost the last 2 games after winning 19 in a row and losing only 2 games in their first 29.   They come into Sacramento, looking to get back on the winning track.   The Kings are only 7 and 23, but the Celtics would do well not to underestimate them as one of the Lakers' 5 losses came at the hands of the Kings. 

Last season, the Celtics swept the series and won in Arco Arena for the first time since the 1995-96 season.  Perk missed the game in Boston with his sore foot from dropping the bed on it.  Big Baby got his first career start and finished with 16 points and 9 rebounds as the Celtics won 90-78.   They won the game at Arco 89-69.   

Hopefully, the Celtics have gotten their wake up call that they can't just coast through games.  They need to find their defense again and maintain it throughout the game and not just the first 3 quarters.   The Celtics need to regain their focus and team play in order to salvage what is left of this western road trip.

Probable Starters

PG:  Rajon Rondo  PPG 11.3 RPG 5.00 APG 7.5 EFF + 19.04
SG:  Ray Allen   PPG 18.8 RPG 3.50 APG 2.6 EFF + 17.14
SF:   Paul Pierce   PPG 18.5 RPG 5.80 APG 3.8 EFF + 17.79
PF:   Kevin Garnett   PPG 16.3 RPG 9.10 APG 2.8 EFF + 22.19
C:    Kendrick Perkins   PPG 9.1 RPG 8.50 APG 1.3 EFF + 14.79

Reserves
Tony Allen
Glen Davis
Eddie House
Leon Powe
Gabe Pruitt
Brian Scalabrine
Patrick O'Bryant
Sam Cassell

Injuries
Kendrick Perkins (Shoulder)  probable

Probable Starters

PG:  Beno Udrih   PPG 11.9 RPG 3.10 APG 5.0 EFF + 12.82
SG:  John Salmons   PPG 20.0 RPG 3.50 APG 3.2 EFF + 17.39
SF:   Francisco Garcia  PPG 12.4 RPG 3.30 APG 1.8 EFF + 11.58 
PF:   Spencer Hawes     PPG 11.4 RPG 7.30 APG 1.6 EFF + 14.45
C:     Brad Miller   PPG 11.3 RPG 7.50 APG 3.5 EFF + 16.42   

Reserves
Mikki Moore
Bobby Jackson
Jason Thompson
Bobby Brown
Donte Greene
Sheldon Williams
Quincy Douby
Kevin Martin
Kenny Thomas

Injuries
Kevin Martin  (ankle)  out
Kenny Thomas  (calf)  out

Key Matchups
  vs 
Ray Allen vs John Salmons
Salmons is the Kings' leading scorer and it will be up to Ray to try to stop him along with hitting his own shots.  Salmons has scored in double figures in all but 1 game this season and has scored 20+ points in 7 of the last 9 games.  He has also been hitting a high percentage from beyond the arc. 

  vs 
The Celtics play best when Rondo is aggressive.  He will need to take it to Udrih while also playing tough defense to keep Udrih from getting his shot off.  When Rondo runs and gets the ball up for floor quickly, the Celtics offense flows but when he walks the ball up the floor and is tentative, the entire offense seems to be tentative.  

Honorable Mention
Kendrick Perkins vs Brad Miller
Miller is a tough inside player and Perk will need to work on defense to keep him away from dominating in the paint.  Perk has said he plans to play in this game and hopefully he will because neither Big Baby or Leon match up well against Miller.  

Connections
Mikki Moore and Brian Scalabrine were teammates in New Jersey
Eddie House played on the Kings in the '02-03 season
Mikki Moore played for the Celtics in the '02-03 season
Kenny Thomas and J.R. Giddens are former New Mexico Lobos

Keys to the Game

Defense from start to finish-  The Celtics have played defense in spurts and have forgotten their defense in the 4th quarter against both the Warriors and the Lakers.  They need to remember what got them here and get back to their defensive roots. 

Focus  - The Celtics seem to lose focus on the road and settle for quick jumpers and get away from the passing game and defense that has made them so successful.  They even resorted to bickering among themselves in the Laker game.  They need to remember ubuntu and get that team focus back. 

Limit turnovers  - The Celtics are the worst in the league for turning the ball over.  They had to focus on taking better care of the ball and stop all the careless turnovers on bad passes and travels.  The Warriors scored 27 points off Celtics turnovers.  That should never happen with a veteran team like the Celtics.  

Crash the boards -  The Celtics have to limit second chance points by crashing the defensive boards.  They need to be more aggressive getting to rebounds  on both ends of the court as they won't win with one and done possessions while allowing their opponents 2 and 3 tries to score. 

X-Factor
Focus - The Celtics have to regain their focus.  They have been bickering on the court and in huddles.  They have lost their defensive focus and intensity to end the games.  They need to get back to what makes them such a good team and that is to value every possession and to put a premium on defense.  All that comes down to focus.