NBA: Celtics Favored to start Western Swing
In the first game after the 2009 All-Star break, the Boston Celtics lost Kevin Garnett to a knee injury. A year later, they may still be feeling the effects.
After an injury-plagued first half of the season and quiet All-Star game, Garnett and the sputtering Celtics hope to re-establish themselves as title contenders during the season's second half which begins with Tuesday night's visit to the Sacramento Kings.
The Celtics are a hefty 5.5-point favorite at Sportsbook.com. Get more on this contest on the GAME MATCHUP page.
It was during a 90-85 loss at Utah last Feb. 19 that Garnett was initially injured, causing the 2004 MVP to miss all but four remaining games and the playoffs. Garnett missed nine contests from Dec. 30-Jan. 20 with another knee problem, and he's been held without a double-double in 10 games since returning, averaging 12.4 points and 6.4 rebounds.
He started but played just 13 minutes in the All-Star game, totaling four points and three rebounds, and seemed miffed by questions about his health before Sunday's game.
"I'll speak one time about my health. It's great," Garnett said.
The Celtics (32-18, 19-30-1 ATS) are 5-5 since his return and just 9-13 since Christmas as their lead in the Atlantic Division has slipped to four games over Toronto. They're already two losses shy of their total from last season and two over the total from their 2007-08 championship campaign. Since Dec. 27, Boston is burying backers with 6-15-1 ATS mark.
"Our expectations are to try to win a championship and be consistent, and that's something we haven't been able to do over the last month or so," Paul Pierce said. "But we're a veteran team, we stick together, and we'll turn this thing around."
Boston will start by trying to avoid a third straight defeat. After a 96-89 home loss to Orlando on Feb. 7, the Celtics went into the break with a 93-85 defeat at New Orleans on Wednesday. Garnett totaled just seven points, shooting 2 of 9 from the field.
"Our starters struggled," Boston coach Doc Rivers said. "Kevin struggled in the second half and Paul forced too much due to the struggling of the team."
This is the first of four games west of the Mississippi River and the C's are 10-7 against Western Conference clubs but have a repulsive 4-12-1 ATS record.
While Pierce won the 3-point shooting contest on Saturday night, he'd love to share some of his outside touch with teammate Ray Allen, who missed the loss at New Orleans due to back spasms after shooting 38.9 percent from the field and 26.8 percent from 3-point range in his previous 10 games.
Allen has been mentioned in trade rumors ahead of Thursday's deadline. If traded, he would have played his last home game with the Celtics, who also face the Los Angeles Lakers, Portland and Denver on this trip.
Sacramento (18-34, 25-25-2 ATS) is the weakest opponent on the trip after it lost 18 of its last 22 (7-14-1 ATS) to effectively end its playoff chances. But the young Kings won their last two games (both as road underdogs) and will be trying for their first three-game winning streak since they won four straight from Nov. 25-Dec. 2.
Kevin Martin scored 26 points and Beno Udrih added 22 off the bench as Sacramento won 103-97 at Detroit on Wednesday, prompting Coach Paul Westphal to lament the timing of All-Star weekend.
"We're learning and getting good performances from different people," Westphal said. "I hate to see the break coming right now."
The Kings are 19-34 ATS in home games after playing a game as an underdog.
The Kings have also been involved in some trade rumors, mostly involving Martin as rookie guard Tyreke Evans continues to emerge. Evans leads all rookies with 20.3 points per game. He's never faced the Celtics, who've held Sacramento to an average of 77.5 points in four straight wins (3-1 ATS) since they acquired Garnett and Allen. Boston's last visit to Arco Arena resulted in the biggest home loss in Kings history, a 108-63 defeat on Dec. 28, 2008.
Sportsbook.com opened with a total of 199.5, and the Celtics are 8-0 UNDER after leading their last two games by 10 or more points at the half. Sacramento returns to action 17-35 ATS in non-conference clashes, losing by more than nine points per game and is 16-7 OVER after they've covered the spread this season.
The Celtics are 17-9 on the road with .500 spread record. The StatFox Power Line shows Boston by 1, well shy of Sportsbook.com's betting line.
CBB: Kentucky, Mississippi State Battle in Starksville
The #2 Kentucky Wildcats have little margin for error when they visit the Mississippi State Bulldogs as three-point favorites tonight.
With two Top 5 teams encountering trouble on Monday night, the second-ranked Wildcats will try to impress in a big SEC tilt that's being broadcast on ESPN. The total has been set at 143.
Kentucky is the tallest in the country and at any time could play an NBA-sized frontline. Four of their keys players are freshmen and from a talent standpoint only Syracuse might have more arguably, with Kansas right behind them.
Though the Wildcats have been tripped up just once all season, they have not been to Starksville, where it is not unusual for Mississippi State (18-7, 11-8-1 ATS) to play beyond their ability when a top level team arrives in town.
Mississippi State's offense goes up and down like the stock market, but its defense delivers like UPS. Center Jarvis Varnado is a swatting machine near the bucket and has a real hunger for grabbing rebounds.
The Bulldogs have been at the top of the SEC in fewest points allowed (62.6 points per game) nearly the entire season and would be a Top 25 team if coach Rick Stansbury could get reliable point guard play. Whether its regular starter Dee Bost or backups, too many forced plays and poor shot selection have contributed to Mississippi State losing six games by five points or less.
The Bulldogs defeated Auburn in overtime 85-75 in their last contest and are 8-1 ATS after a win by 10 points or more this season. They are tied with Arkansas at 6-4 for the SEC West lead and their offense is built around making long bombs.
Mississippi State made 11 three's balls against the Tigers and are proficient at home with 39.7 percent marksmanship, converting on 10 of 26 attempts. With a defense that allows 36.8 percent shooting percentage and ability to score in bunches, it's no wonder Mississippi State is 14-2 ATS against offensive clubs scoring 77 or points a game.
The Wildcats (24-1, 12-11 ATS) might not do everything right for Coach John Calipari, but they are awfully close. This team is dominated by freshmen who can play and they have grown as the season as progressed. That is not only a compliment to the players, but to Coach Cal who has stressed the importance of playing defense, holding opponents 37.6 percent shooting.
Though the Bulldogs are good rebounding team with a +4 in margin differential, Kentucky is one of the best in the country at +10. The Wildcats are 26-8 ATS after three straight games outrebounding opponent by six or more.
Kentucky will have to stand-up to the three point barrage they will face.
"They are going to shoot them whether you are there or not, you just have to make them hard," Calipari said. "You have to understand what you're playing against. You can't fall asleep." The Wildcats are 3-8 ATS off a spread win, including dropping the last five.
This game features a potential unique matchup of big men, Varnado against DeMarcus Cousins. Varnado leads the SEC and ranks sixth nationally with 11.3 rebounds per game. He's second in NCAA history with 519 career blocked shots.
Cousins' has exceptional offensive skills in the paint, is an aggressive defender and can really run the court.
"They're two different kinds of players," coach Calipari said. "One is going to block shots and be active and be quicker to the ball. The other is just a hard matchup for teams."
Kentucky is 14-5 UNDER after consecutive wins against conference rivals over the last three seasons.
This is the second game on Super Tuesday on ESPN and Mississippi State has won 12 in a row at Humphrey Coliseum since losing home opener (4-3-1 ATS) and they are 10-1 ATS versus teams making 48 percent of their shots since 2007-08 season.
Big Blue has won four of last six in Starksville and is 17-8 ATS off a home win. Because the Bulldogs are not great at guard, John Wall could be the difference.
Keep in mind, the team with the higher three-point shooting percentage is 4-1 ATS in this series. The StatFox Power Line shows Kentucky by 4, perhaps indicating some rare value on a highly ranked club.
