An early-season injury to Gordon Hayward hasn’t slowed down the Celtics, who are 10-1 on the campaign and 6-3 against the spread. Boston shoots for its 11th straight win Sunday in Sacramento, but the host Kings have covered their last six outings and nearly upset the Lakers Friday in L.A.
- Boston Celtics at Sacramento Kings (Matchup Report)
- Date/Time: November 17, 3:30 P.M. ET
- TV Coverage: NBSB/NSCA
- Sportsbook Odds: Celtics -4 | O/U 217 (Line History)
Sportsbook Odds Analysis
Early money poured in on the underdog Kings, moving Sacramento down from +4 to +2.5 by Saturday night. The total saw an early sharp move down to 214.5 before being bet back up to 216.5.
Boston News & Notes
Although the Celtics enter action riding a 10-game winning streak and being touted as the best team in the East, head coach Brad Stevens isn’t lauding his squad with praise. “We still have a lot of things that we have to clean up,” Stevens said after the Celtics had to gut out a tougher-than-expected 105-100 win Friday at Golden State. “Some of our guys need to take more charges and we’ve got to be more vertical,” he added, referring to the 108 points Boston’s allowed in the paint in its last two games.
The Celtics may have simply taken the shorthanded Warriors lightly Friday, trailing by double digits early in the game before taking back control in the fourth quarter. Boston showed poise down the stretch, especially guard Kemba Walker, who missed 10 of his first 11 shots Friday before scoring 14 points in the fourth quarter. Boston missed a point spread cover by 1.5 points but is still 6-2-2 ATS during its 10-game winning streak.
Sacramento News & Notes
The Kings may be 4-7 SU in 11 games on the year, but that record is deceiving. Sacramento has won four of its last six games following an 0-5 start, including upset victories over the Trail Blazers and Jazz. More notably for bettors, Sacramento has been a spread-covering machine, staying inside the number in all six of those contests. Four of those covers came as underdogs, such as Friday’s 99-97 loss at the Lakers as 10.5-point pups.
Sacramento tied the game with 22 seconds left in regulation before LeBron James hit a pair of free throws in the dying seconds to break the deadlock.
The Kings were without De’Aaron Fox (ankle) and veteran Trevor Ariza (groin) Friday, when they were held under 100 points for the first time in seven games. Fox is expected to miss his third straight game Sunday, but Ariza may return after being a late scratch Friday.
Betting Pick: UNDER 217
The defense has keyed the Kings’ recent success, with Sacramento holding four of its last six opponents to 101 points or fewer.
- The Celtics are 10-0 SU in their last 10 games.
- The Kings are 6-0 ATS in their last six games.
- The UNDER is 4-0 in Boston’s last four games at Sacramento.
