Games between the Boston Celtics and Sacramento Kings have been a lot more competitive in recent seasons than they have for a very long time. And while we would normally be expecting a pitched battle with Sacramento fighting for their postseason lives in the fraught Western Conference standings, the Celtics’ current situation complicates a prognosis on their Friday night tilt at TD Garden.
After having clinched the best record in the NBA for the 2023-24 season, Boston has little to gain from pushing their players in search of a win, save for momentum. And given the Celtics will need several older or injury prone players healthy at the start of the postseason on top of Jaylen Brown and Derrick White currently dealing with some (hopefully) minor issues. So, we may see less than the full strength Boston squad take the floor.
We’ll still take the Celtics in this contest, but we think it will be closer than most fans would prefer.