The Kings are in a hazardous situation as they prepare to face the Boston Celtics on the second night of a back-to-back Friday at TD Garden. Sacramento lost 120-109 to the New York Knicks on Thursday, the first game of a four-game road trip that could clinch their fate as a play-in team after finishing third in the Western Conference playoffs last season. The Celtics have the best record in the NBA and are 33-3 at home, but the Kings could catch them shorthanded with Jaylen Brown (left hand sprain) and Derrick White (low back contusion) listed as questionable. Brown, Boston’s second-leading scorer, averages 23.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game.
White, a candidate for All-Defensive accolades, with an average of 15.4 points, 4.3 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 1.0 steals, and 1.2 blocks.
The Kings (44-32) are eighth in the Western Conference, one game behind the Phoenix Suns and New Orleans Pelicans for the sixth seed with only six games remaining. Sacramento is now only a half-game ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers for ninth place, but the Kings have the tiebreaker after winning the season series against their Southern California rivals. The top six teams in the West will have automatic playoff places. The next four teams will have to fight their way in via the play-in competition. The clubs that finish seventh and eighth will have two chances to win one play-in game and qualify for the playoffs.
To qualify for the playoffs, the ninth and tenth-place teams must win two consecutive games. The Celtics (60-16) seem unconcerned about being the Eastern Conference’s top seed. They hold an incredible 13-game advantage over the second-place Milwaukee Bucks.
