Celtics (39-26) @ Kings (32-31) – 10:00PM, Wed, Mar. 6, 2019

[2Mas]

Kings have slipped a bit lately since Bagley got hurt. He's been really good for them and commanded their second unit.

This is going to be a brutal B2B, since the Kings play at an insane pace. Very good that the Celtics got rest for their starters last night, they're going to need it.

Celtics are going have size/scoring advantages inside against everyone tonight not named Giles or Koufos (who rarely plays); Giles is a a very underrated defender.

This road trip, minus the B2B, is pretty easy travel wise. OAK to SAC is a 20-minute flight then a couple of nights in LA. It makes you wonder why the NBA has teams play B2B's with a 4 hr flight mixed in. There is no way you get optimum performance in that situation.

They're really hoping on a plane for a 20 minute flight? I figured they would bus it lol.

I feel like with the type of planes these ppl fly on, the cost for a 20 minute flight isn't worth it.

[fallguy]

Kings have slipped a bit lately since Bagley got hurt. He's been really good for them and commanded their second unit.

This is going to be a brutal B2B, since the Kings play at an insane pace. Very good that the Celtics got rest for their starters last night, they're going to need it.

Celtics are going have size/scoring advantages inside against everyone tonight not named Giles or Koufos (who rarely plays); Giles is a a very underrated defender.

This road trip, minus the B2B, is pretty easy travel wise. OAK to SAC is a 20-minute flight then a couple of nights in LA. It makes you wonder why the NBA has teams play B2B's with a 4 hr flight mixed in. There is no way you get optimum performance in that situation.

They're really hoping on a plane for a 20 minute flight? I figured they would bus it lol.

I feel like with the type of planes these ppl fly on, the cost for a 20 minute flight isn't worth it.

They're doing okay for cash.

[mbsnmisc]

Kings have slipped a bit lately since Bagley got hurt. He's been really good for them and commanded their second unit.

This is going to be a brutal B2B, since the Kings play at an insane pace. Very good that the Celtics got rest for their starters last night, they're going to need it.

Celtics are going have size/scoring advantages inside against everyone tonight not named Giles or Koufos (who rarely plays); Giles is a a very underrated defender.

This road trip, minus the B2B, is pretty easy travel wise. OAK to SAC is a 20-minute flight then a couple of nights in LA. It makes you wonder why the NBA has teams play B2B's with a 4 hr flight mixed in. There is no way you get optimum performance in that situation.

They're really hoping on a plane for a 20 minute flight? I figured they would bus it lol.

I feel like with the type of planes these ppl fly on, the cost for a 20 minute flight isn't worth it.

I thought the same thing. They have an agreement with Sentient Jet, I don't know if that means they have a dedicated plane, or if Sentient just supplies a plane to fly them game to game.

[soxfan2003]

I looked into online betting for only the 2nd time of my life before the Warriors game since I was around 75% convinced Celtics would outright win the game even if Klay played and became even more convinced when he was out. I just figured Celtics were due for a breakout game and the Celtics would be more focused and with more effort. (Warriors already got their win vs the Celtics on national TV earlier this year.) I didn't expect a blowout win, however. And I have seen enough of the Warriors games this year to realize Cousins isn't fitting in well and the Warriors are still kind of sleepwalking through the regular season.

I rarely post with optimism or negativity about about a game days before or even on game day but I did have an optimistic post on the first page of that Warriors game and just became way more positive the more I thought about it. If I was someone that gambles and was in Vegas, I would have put $2500 on Celtics to win outright last night and another $2500 to cover the spread.

I am not saying the Celtics will lose this game but if I was a gambler I would not place a dime on it since I suspect Kings are still fighting for their playoff lives. And C's may be looking forward to revenge against the Lakers and playing them. Normally, all of this would point to betting on Kings but C's are more talented -- Kings have a player injured -- and they may actually try hard enough to follow it up with a win. Last night the Celtics were still able to rest players since game over entering the 4th and Curry shutdown early.

[2Mas]

I rarely post with optimism or negativity about about a game days before or even on game day but I did have an optimistic post on the first page of that Warriors game and just became way more positive the more I thought about it. If I was someone that gambles and was in Vegas, I would have put $2500 on Celtics to win outright last night and another $2500 to cover the spread.

I am not saying the Celtics will lose this game but if I was a gambler I would not place a dime on it since I suspect Kings are still fighting for their playoff lives. And C's may be looking forward to revenge against the Lakers and playing them. Normally, all of this would point to betting on Kings but C's are more talented -- Kings have a player injured -- and they may actually try hard enough to follow it up with a win. Last night the Celtics were still able to rest players since game over entering the 4th and Curry shutdown early.

By game time betting the C's $2,500 woulda got you around $5,300+. If you did it a few hours earlier it woulda been way more too lol.

I put $40 on it cause I was soft but wouldn't be surprised if we won lol. So i hit for $110.

& I'm putting that 110 on Bos tn. You're right about Sac, but Vegas takes into account all of this. They're -130. Great odds for Celtics Kings. I get it, but whatever happened "on that long flight across country," i'm betting on it being for real lol.

[Joshyjess]

Was last night's game just a fluke? Or did the C's turn the corner, and start getting their act together - Tonight's game should tell us a lot!
So let's go C's!!!! Let's shut up all the Toronto, Philly and Milwaukee naysayers, and show them what they have to look forward to in the playoffs!!!

[Edug27]

It all starts here fellas. I reviewed the next 20 games on the schedule, checked in with Brad and leaders on the team his morning, and FULLY expect Boston to go 16-4 over that stretch. Leaving us at 41-22.

Lets go!

Ok. So I was a little off.

Instead of going 16-4 over that 20 game stretch, we went 13-7.

Instead of being at 41-22 after that 20 game stretch, we were 38-25. We dropped some easy games against some bummy teams, but let's not dwell on the past....

We have 17 games left, after looking through the schedule, I have us going 11-6, and finishing the season at 50-32.. 5 games off our record from last year...

The Pacers have a tough schedule to close the season, so the race for the 4th seed will come down to the end. Either way, I see it being Boston/Indy first round.

[Green89]

I copied this from another forum. I cannot vouch for its veracity, but it feels right.

The 2018/19 Boston Celtics are:

(19-4, .826) when Gordon Hayward has ≥ 12 points
And
(16-20, .444) when Gordon Hayward has ≤ 11 points or does not play

Yup, we definitely won't be successful in the playoffs if the 3 points per game Hayward shows up.

[Froob]

Anybody else still ****ing hyped off last night?

[3D Chess]

Anybody else still ****ing hyped off last night?

Yes. It was a basketball oasis in a recent desert made from poop instead of sand.

[celticfan42487]

I copied this from another forum. I cannot vouch for its veracity, but it feels right.

The 2018/19 Boston Celtics are:

(19-4, .826) when Gordon Hayward has ≥ 12 points
And
(16-20, .444) when Gordon Hayward has ≤ 11 points or does not play

Yup, we definitely won't be successful in the playoffs if the 3 points per game Hayward shows up.

Well that stat is the biggest use of correlation I've seen in awhile.

Hayward has 0 ability to create a shot for himself right now. So he goes off when he gets lots of open 3s... which if he is the rest of the team is.

So yes if the rest of the team plays very well around Hayward and everyone is getting a lot of open 3 pointers we have a better chance of winning.

You have to assume in the playoffs with no drive or kick players and no dominant post men to play in an out with... that won't happen that easily. We'll have to win with defense and mistake free basketball. Or simply just get hot from 3 and hit contested shots.

[ConstableGeneva]

I copied this from another forum. I cannot vouch for its veracity, but it feels right.

The 2018/19 Boston Celtics are:

(19-4, .826) when Gordon Hayward has ≥ 12 points
And
(16-20, .444) when Gordon Hayward has ≤ 11 points or does not play

19-4 when Hayward scores at least 12 points; 16-20 otherwise
18-2 when Hayward shoots at least 50% FG%; 17-22 otherwise
28-6 when Hayward is a (+) on the floor; 7-18 otherwise
22-4 when Hayward makes at least 4 FGs; 13-20 otherwise

Hayward's struggles are in line with how the bench performs and vice versa. When the second unit doesn't involve him as a playmaker/scorer, the bench production suffers. If he's not feeling himself and plays disengaged, the bench production suffers. It also indicates somehow that the starters have done their job for the most part and anything we can get out of Hayward is a much-needed boost.

[Sactowndog]

How do the logistics look on a road trip like this. Do the Cs fly to sac? Or do they take a stretch Limo? It’s a short drive but traffic is a mess on that stretch.

They Bus, 90 minute trip and get in around midnight.

[greenroom31]

The 2018/19 Boston Celtics are:

(19-4, .826) when Gordon Hayward has ≥ 12 points
And
(16-20, .444) when Gordon Hayward has ≤ 11 points or does not play

19-4 when Hayward scores at least 12 points; 16-20 otherwise
18-2 when Hayward shoots at least 50% FG%; 17-22 otherwise
28-6 when Hayward is a (+) on the floor; 7-18 otherwise
22-4 when Hayward makes at least 4 FGs; 13-20 otherwise

Hayward's struggles are in line with how the bench performs and vice versa. When the second unit doesn't involve him as a playmaker/scorer, the bench production suffers. If he's not feeling himself and plays disengaged, the bench production suffers. It also indicates somehow that the starters have done their job for the most part and anything we can get out of Hayward is a much-needed boost.

I posted about this a couple of days ago in the Gordon Hayward thread and it's in the same line of thinking, so re-posting some additional details here. The TLDR is that when Hayward (and Mook) have good games we typically win, and when they don't we typically lose:

For a guy who has been pretty mediocre all season (except against Minnesota), it's odd how different his performances are in Celtics wins vs. losses.

In 34 wins he shot 48.7% and 41% from 3pt
In 24 losses he shot 34% and 21% from 3pt

His other stats are all very similar (other than points, 12.7 vs. 7.8) but you'd think that for a guy who is only average 10 ppg, his shooting wouldn't be the key indicator in a teams wins or losses.

I took a look at some other guys and they have some level of drop off but not as significant. Mook is pretty bad but Tatum was almost exactly the same in wins and losses. Stunningly similar even: http://www.espn.com/nba/player/splits/_/id/4065648/jayson-tatum
Smart was very similar too: http://www.espn.com/nba/player/splits/_/id/2990992/marcus-smart
Jaylen also: http://www.espn.com/nba/player/splits/_/id/3917376/jaylen-brown

It's funny -- the guys who seem to be the most inconsistent are actually the vets:
Al: http://www.espn.com/nba/player/splits/_/id/3213/al-horford
Kyrie: http://www.espn.com/nba/player/splits/_/id/6442/kyrie-irving
Mook: http://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/6462/marcus-morris
Hayward: http://www.espn.com/nba/player/splits/_/id/4249/gordon-hayward
...and Terry: http://www.espn.com/nba/player/splits/_/id/3074752/terry-rozier (although for him it's more about starting vs. coming off the bench)

Maybe I'm just losing my mind, but after looking at this info it seems like it's Mook and Hayward more than anyone else in our top 8 who determines if we win or lose. And then Al, Kyrie and Terry to a lesser degree. If Mook and Hayward play well we win. If they don't we usually lose.

[Sactowndog]

Kings have slipped a bit lately since Bagley got hurt. He's been really good for them and commanded their second unit.

This is going to be a brutal B2B, since the Kings play at an insane pace. Very good that the Celtics got rest for their starters last night, they're going to need it.

Celtics are going have size/scoring advantages inside against everyone tonight not named Giles or Koufos (who rarely plays); Giles is a a very underrated defender.

This road trip, minus the B2B, is pretty easy travel wise. OAK to SAC is a 20-minute flight then a couple of nights in LA. It makes you wonder why the NBA has teams play B2B's with a 4 hr flight mixed in. There is no way you get optimum performance in that situation.

They're really hoping on a plane for a 20 minute flight? I figured they would bus it lol.

I feel like with the type of planes these ppl fly on, the cost for a 20 minute flight isn't worth it.

They did bus it. Travel to SFO from Oakland not much better than just busing to Sac.

[greenroom31]

This is big..if we win and look similar to how we looked last night, I believe the corner has been turned and it's all up from there. Give me a win streak baby!

I'm actually happy they're playing back-to-back in this situation so they can hopefully keep the mojo. Let's make it 2!

[AlCelticFan]

Thank you basketball Gods for sparing me the half hour start time vs last night

[AlCelticFan]

This is big..if we win and look similar to how we looked last night, I believe the corner has been turned and it's all up from there. Give me a win streak baby!

I'm actually happy they're playing back-to-back in this situation so they can hopefully keep the mojo. Let's make it 2!

Everyone played light minutes too.

[AlCelticFan]

I haven't seen the Kings yet this year I don't think. I'm interested to see their young guys play.

[mbsnmisc]

I copied this from another forum. I cannot vouch for its veracity, but it feels right.

The 2018/19 Boston Celtics are:

(19-4, .826) when Gordon Hayward has ≥ 12 points
And
(16-20, .444) when Gordon Hayward has ≤ 11 points or does not play

Yup, we definitely won't be successful in the playoffs if the 3 points per game Hayward shows up.

Well that stat is the biggest use of correlation I've seen in awhile.

Hayward has 0 ability to create a shot for himself right now. So he goes off when he gets lots of open 3s... which if he is the rest of the team is.

So yes if the rest of the team plays very well around Hayward and everyone is getting a lot of open 3 pointers we have a better chance of winning.

You have to assume in the playoffs with no drive or kick players and no dominant post men to play in an out with... that won't happen that easily. We'll have to win with defense and mistake free basketball. Or simply just get hot from 3 and hit contested shots.

I see your point, but what caught my attention was the low total of the cut-off. If the number was 20 or even 17 points (to me) it would have made perfect sense. A player coming back from serious injury and playing 26 minutes a game scoring 17+ points is the rough equivalent of scoring 25 per game (based on 36ish minutes). That is playing at an All-Star level. Scoring 12 points in 26 minutes is roughly like scoring 17 in the 36-minute playing formula. Scoring 17 ppg (per 36) is a good player.

My (semi convoluted) reasoning is that Hayward doesn't have to play great for us to be a really good team, he just has to play good.