Jaylen Brown and the Boston Celtics are one of the surprise teams in the 2025-26 season, as they are firmly in the mix for a top-three spot in the Eastern Conference even with Jayson Tatum (Achilles) out of the lineup.
Now, Boston finds itself as a major favorite on New Year’s Day against the Sacramento Kings, who have just eight wins this season. Sacramento is without star big man Domantas Sabonis (knee), and it’s 29th in the NBA in net rating this season.
While Boston lost against Portland to open this West Coast trip, it bounced back with a road win in Utah on Tuesday night. Can it carry the momentum from that into this matchup with one of the worst teams in the NBA?
Here’s a look at the odds, my favorite player prop and a prediction for this New Year’s Day showdown.
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.
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Moneyline
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Celtics Injury Report
Kings Injury Report
Celtics Best NBA Prop Bet
Boston big man Neemias Queta has become a crucial part of the team’s success in the 2025-26 season, averaging 10.0 points and 7.7 rebounds per game while clearly proving that he’s the No. 1 center option on the roster.
On Thursday, Queta has a great matchup against a Kings team down its leading rebounder (Sabonis). The Kings are last in the NBA in rebounding percentage this season and 26th in opponent rebounds per game, so I wouldn’t be shocked if Queta clears his season average tonight.
This season, the C’s center has eight or more boards in 15 games and is averaging 16.1 rebound chances per night. He’d only need to pull down half of those to clear this prop on New Year’s Day.
The Celtics’ insane 2025-26 season continues with a cupcake matchup against the Kings on New Year’s Day.
Sacramento is down both Domantas Sabonis and Zach LaVine in this matchup, and it’s just 8-25 overall and 2-8 in its last 10 games. On top of that, the Kings 12-21 against the spread this season – the second-worst mark in the NBA.
So, bettors should look to Boston to cover in this game, as it has risen to No. 4 in the NBA in both offensive rating and net rating.
The C’s are defying all logic in what was supposed to be a gap year, and their offense should run circles around a Kings team that is 28th in the NBA in defensive rating.
Sacramento has been awful against teams over .500 this season (5-16), and I don’t see it keeping pace with Boston with both LaVine and Sabonis out.
Pick: Celtics -9.5 (-108 at DraftKings)
Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
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Find Peter Dewey’s NBA betting record here (futures included). You can also follow my daily plays on BetStamp here.
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