The Celtics Hit A New Low In The Kevin Garnett Era: Lose To Kings By 22 Points

So what stage of grief are you in with the Celtics these days? I find that the current most common ones are either anger at seeing them repeatedly blown out or acceptance that they are just a bad team so what can you do?

Getting rolled by quality opponents like the Clippers or Warriors is one thing but Boston (14-16, 5-11 away) was embarrassed by Sacramento (11-19, 10-7 home) tonight, 118-96 at the Sleep Train Arena (haha yes that's really what it's called). The Celts went 1-3 on their nightmarish road trip, capped off by three straight humbling defeats in California.

The Kings hit 10 3-pointers and scored 30+ points in the last three quarters. Six guys scored double figures including three who had 20+. Isaiah Thomas had a game-high 27 points and five rebounds, Celtics killer John Salmons added 23 points and six rebounds, Jason Thompson put up 20 points and six rebounds while DeMarcus Cousins notched a triple double (12 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists).

James Johnson had 10 points, six rebounds and three blocks off the bench for Sacramento while folk hero Jimmer Fredette checked in with 10 points and five assists.

Rajon Rondo returned and had 10 assists with five rebounds but only two points. Jason Terry and Paul Pierce both scored 20 points, Kevin Garnett had 16 points, 12 rebounds and six assists, Jeff Green tallied 16 points off the bench and Jared Sullinger completed his fine road trip with 10 points and six rebounds.

Perhaps a new year will bring Boston some better fortune. They are off until Wednesday (7:30 p.m., CSN) when they host Memphis (19-8, 2nd Southwest Division) at TD Garden and Avery Bradley is expected to make his season debut. It is a very tough week as the Celts play the Pacers on Friday then go to Atlanta on Saturday to face the Hawks, three teams that are all well over .500 and in either first or second-place in their respective divisions.

UPDATE 1/2: The Celtics recalled Fab Melo but it was only to have their medical staff treat his concussion that he suffered over the weekend with the Red Claws. Apparently it's a weird rule that guys in the D-League have to be treated by the NBA teams.

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Shorthanded Celtics Drop Their First Game In Las Vegas, To Jimmer & The Kings

Apparently, there are bigger things in the NBA than a summer league game in mid-July. Shocking, I know. Especially when the Boston Celtics are the only insane team to appear in both Orlando and Las Vegas this summer.

With the Courtney Lee deal going down before tip-off, the Celts were down three players as JaJuan Johnson, E'Twaun Moore and Sean Williams packed up and left for Houston (their new NBA home). With nine players, the C's (2-1) hung around for longer than expected (tied 38-38 at halftime) before losing 91-82 to the Kings (2-3) tonight at the Thomas and Mack Center.

In their final summer league contest, Jimmer Fredette led Sacramento with 19 points (9 for 10 on free throws) and five assists. Rookie Thomas Robinson was a beast on the boards with 15 points and 16 rebounds. Tony Mitchell scored 13 points, Yancy Gates had 11 points and Dominique Johnson added 10.

Speaking with the NBA TV commentators during the first half, Celtics head coach Doc Rivers admitted that Boston's brass loves Dionte Christmas (19 points) so it looks like he'll get an invite to their training camp in the fall. Jamar Smith and Craig Brackins both notched 14 points while Jonathan Gibson (another guy singled out by Rivers) had 12 points. Jared Sullinger grabbed 10 rebounds.

Boston has two games left in the summer: Saturday (10:30 p.m. vs. 2-1 Milwaukee) and Sunday (6:00 p.m. vs. 1-2 Clippers). Expect them to add a few healthy bodies since I doubt they can go through another 40 minutes with nine players. If Danny Ainge is reading this, I'm available and I'd love a business trip to Vegas.

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