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The Boston Celtics can't get too down on themselves after coming up on the wrong side of a blowout by the Los Angeles Clippers, as they stay in California for a pair of games against the Golden State Warriors and the Sacramento Kings.
It doesn't feel good to get walloped, but everybody is getting blown out by the Clippers. They've won 15-straight including their 29-point win over Boston Thursday night, with their last five all by 12 points or more. There's no shame in dropping a game to Los Angeles, even if the scoreline was embarrassing. Paul Pierce has been playing great basketball of late, with his scoring average now once again over 20 points -- something he hasn't kept up for a whole year since 2008-09.
Boston will have a day to regroup before taking on the Golden State Warriors, a team that Boston matches up well with size-wise. The Warriors start Festus Ezeli at center and play Andris Biedrins off the bench, but double-double machine David Lee spends a good proportion of minutes alongside Carl Landry, which should go well with Kevin Garnett playing the pivot for the C's. Stephen Curry is the anti-Rajon Rondo at the point, scoring over 20 points a game while dishing out 6.4 assists. Golden State has had a strong start to their year, and was in charge of the Pacific Division before the Clippers' streak.
Next up for Boston are the Sacramento Kings, who have had a rough go of things this year. Between talk of the team relocating and a pair of suspensions for various reasons to DeMarcus Cousins, the team has frequently had off-the-court issues on the brain. As such, they're a bit of an inconsistent team, trading wins and losses every game since snapping a five-game losing streak against the Warriors last week. Cousins is the leading scorer and rebounder with a near double-double of 16.5 points and 9.5 rebounds. The offense lacks cohesion, with nobody over 3.3 assists per game, while the defense is bottom three in the league according to defensive efficiency.
Here's a look at the team's upcoming games:
Saturday, Dec. 29
Boston Celtics (14-14) vs. Golden State Warriors (19-10)
10:30 p.m., Comcast SportsNet-New England, NBATV
Sunday, Dec. 30
Boston Celtics (14-14) vs. Sacramento Kings (9-19)
9 p.m., Comcast SportsNet-New England