[Game] 34/82: Kings vs. Celtics 01 JAN 2026, 7pm PT/10pm ET

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

Boston Celtics 20-12 (10-7 Away) @ Sacramento Kings 8-25 (5-10 Home)
01 January 2026, 7pm PT/10pm ET
Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, California

Last 5:
Celtics 4-1 Kings 2-3

Series:
Tied 0-0​

Game Preview:
Struggling Kings started new year with visit from surging Celtics (NBA.com)

Availability:
Broadcast: NBA League Pass, NBC Sports California
Radio: Sactown Sports 1140 AM

Box Score (via ESPN.com)

Team Homepage
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Injury Report (as of 4pm ET):
Celtics:
Chris Boucher - QUESTIONABLE (personal)
Jayson Tatum - OUT (Achilles)


Kings:
Zach LaVine - OUT (ankle)
Domantas Sabonis - OUT (knee)



Referee Assignments:
Bill Kennedy (#55 - Crew Chief), Kevin Cutler (#34 - Referee), Simone Jelks (#81 - Umpire). Fifty years combined experience.



Mister Slim Says: Time to turn the corner on a new calendar year, and Sacramento will look to start 2026 off with a win against Boston... I'm not getting my hopes up.

Shout out to @Padrino, @LPKingsFan, @Warhawk, @hrdboild, @Capt. Factorial, @iowamcnabb, @admira1 and @bgp73 for correctly guessing in the December Wins poll.

 

[Caccia]

Last time out was a matinee game. By the time the Kings were fully awake, the fans had left the building. Maybe this time they will hold on to the ball against the Celtics defense. I am looking at you, Westbrook, Schröder, and Monk. While I am at it, Murray needs to shoot better than 31% from the field, 25% from deep.

Stockton only has two games this week. Maybe Cardwell will be available.

 

[Caccia]

The NBA ranks Sacramento's January schedule as yet again the toughest in the league. Amazing. Adam Silver really must want Sacramento to get a good "bounce" in the lottery, because the odds of winning never seem to get any better.

NBA Storylines: January's strength of schedule rankings

Breaking down the strength of every team's upcoming schedule in January.

www.nba.com

I voted for 5-6 wins this month, but that is only if Sabonis comes back strong. He has played all of 11 games this season, and seemed to be playing hurt in all but three or four.

 

[Warhawk]

I would have liked to answer "4-5", but I rounded up. 3 just seems too low, even for the Kings.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

"Mazzulla or Nah" is wild!

EDIT - But somehow not as diabolical as, "Hey, the Kings are 8-25, what else are we gonna talk about?"

 

[Caccia]

Kyle Draper says no Cardwell tonight.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

Kyle Draper says no Cardwell tonight.

Probably still mindful of his two-way status.

 

[Caccia]

The last game was an embarrassment. As Ben Affleck's character says in The Way Back, "Show some effing pride!

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

Queta got back in the building and immediately regressed to Kings!Queta.

 

[ShastaKingsFan]

You can't allow Pritchard to guard Murray and not take him into the post

 

[HndsmCelt]

Precious putting a hurt on them early

 

[ShastaKingsFan]

Max has to use his fouls better than that

 

[Krunker]

Previous living up to his name!

 

[Light it up]

Precious is ballin

 

[Caccia]

Max has to use his fouls better than that.

Rookie mistake.

 

[HndsmCelt]

Boston with an assassination move

 

[Turgenev]

Kayte will not consciously criticise the Kings but her thoughts may be visible in her praise for the opponents – after the Nemias dunk: ‘See how quickly they make decisions and how they never hold onto the ball’.

 

[Capt. Factorial]

Celtics kinda playing like they were enjoying the Sacramento night life too much for New Year's Eve.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

They're not exactly forcing turnovers in this game, either, Kyle.

 

[Capt. Factorial]

Celtics kinda playing like they were enjoying the Sacramento night life too much for New Year's Eve.

And then they stop turning the ball over and go on a 6-0 run, of course

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

Celtics kinda playing like they were enjoying the Sacramento night life too much for New Year's Eve.

Nobody has ever said that sentence before.

 

[iowamcnabb]

Effin ***** threes

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

Just when I was about to say, "Here's the rotation I've been waiting for," in comes Eubanks.

 

[HndsmCelt]

Drew waste, no time in screwing up

 

[iowamcnabb]

Has Brown slimmed down?

 

[HndsmCelt]

Just when I was about to say, "Here's the rotation I've been waiting for," in comes Eubanks.

But if they aren’t/can’t play Cardwell every game, kind of out of options

 

[Caccia]

Keegan come out for Malik. He is only 2-7. Let's hope Monk can keep it together tonight.

 

[ShastaKingsFan]

I need to see a couple hook attempts from Eubanks, as part of our increased emphasis on better analytics

 

[Sluggah]

Every time I see we still have the lead, I’m surprised

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

But if they aren’t/can’t play Cardwell every game, kind of out of options

Touché.