NBA Primetime on Sky Sports: Ovie Soko previews Celtics @ Kings
Sky Sports showing a record 48 weekend NBA Primetime games in the 2019-20 season
Monday 18 November 2019 06:13, UK
Who will prevail in this weekend's NBA Sunday primetime game live on Sky Sports? Ovie Soko previews Celtics @ Kings.
Boston Celtics @ Sacramento Kings, Sunday 8:30pm, Sky Sports Arena (Red Button)
Watch via free live stream on skysports.com, Sky Sports mobile app and Sky Sports YouTube channel
Despite their shaky start to the season, Sacramento have talent. They will miss the injured De'Aaron Fox and Marvin Bagley but they still have Bogdan Bogdanovic and Buddy Hield who can both score.
But, all told, the Kings are not of the same calibre as this Boston Celtics team. The way the Celtics have started the season, you wouldn't be surprised to see them in the Finals in June. Their only defeat came on opening night against Philadelphia, one of the best defensive teams in the league.
I expect Boston to go out West and take care of business in this game. Celtics coach Brad Stevens won't allow his players to overlook any team and he will have them ready to go.
Any team would miss Gordon Hayward, who is out for six weeks with a broken hand, from a talent perspective but the Celtics won't miss a beat because they play team basketball. That is what Stevens had success doing as a college coach at Butler.
I played against his Butler teams (which included Hayward). He was always able to get guys on the same page and extract the best out of each player for the greater good.
Boston reaching the Finals is not as far-fetched a statement as you might have thought at the start of the season. They are closer to the Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers than we expected.
The move to bring Kemba Walker to Boston has proved to be huge. He fits so well into the style of a Stevens-coached team. He's talented, he can score the ball, but he's also a 'heartbeat' kind of player, a point guard who gives you the confidence to shoot the next shot and it comes from a genuine place.
Guys like Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum really appreciate that. They are younger guys so it is really important to have a point guard who encourages their growth. That is a huge intangible Kemba brings to the table.
Boston are rolling and they will continue to improve.
