The defending champions Golden State Warriors pay the Sacramento Kings a visit on Friday as these Western Conference squads face each other at the Golden 1 Center.
The Warriors are still licking their wounds from Wednesday’s loss to the Toronto Raptors. On the other hand, the Kings are riding high with back to back wins tucked under their belts.
The Golden State Warriors will try to bounce back from a loss to a Kawhi-less Toronto Raptors team in their last game. The defeat snapped Golden State’s four game winning streak which began during Steph Curry’s second game back from injury. The Dubs averaged 119.5 points during the four game run but were held to just 93 points by the Raptors’ defense.
The Warriors rank third in the NBA in scoring at 115.6 points per game. Curry and Kevin Durant currently have an identical 28.9 scoring average. Klay Thompson is the third 20-point scorer in the team at 22.4 points per game. On defense, the Dubs rank 15th in the league in scoring defense at 110.6 points per game but have allowed just 106.4 points in their last five games.
After a three game losing streak to end the month of November, the Sacramento Kings have won five out of their last six games including the last two. Sacramento is one of the big surprises of the season at 15-12 which has placed them in a tie with the Dallas Mavericks for 7th place in the Eastern Conference.
The Kings rank next to the Warriors at 4th in team scoring with their 115.3 points per game average. Sacramento’s offense is led by Buddy Hield who is putting up 18.6 points per game. Second year man De’Aaron Fox is second in scoring at 17.9 points on the season. Defensively though the Kings give up the fourth most points per game at 115.5 per outing. They will have to play better defense if they are to topple the champs on Friday.
The Warriors and Kings have played a total of 391 regular season games in their history. The Dubs lead their all-time series 203-188. The Warriors have won 18 out of their last 21 games which includes their first meeting of the current season where the Dubs escaped with a one point win.
The Warriors are 7-3 SU in their last 10 games and Golden State is an even 7-7 SU in 14 road games this season. The Kings are 5-1 SU in their last six games played. Sacramento is 7-5 SU in 12 home games played so far. Head to head, the Warriors have won seven out of their last 10 meetings.
But the Dubs have lost six out of their last nine road games and were soundly beaten by a Toronto team that played without Leonard. The Kings lost to the Dubs by just one point last November 24th. They are a young and confident bunch of young players who won’t shy away from any challenge. I think the Kings will be tough at home but the Dubs will prevail. I’m just not sure if they can cover the spread. We’re picking the Golden State Warriors to beat the Sacramento Kings on 12.14.18.
Golden State is 13-16 ATS on the season. The Dubs are 6-8 ATS in 14 road games played. Sacramento is 17-9-1 ATS in 27 games played this season. The Kings are an impressive 8-3-2 ATS at home this season. Head to head, the Kings are 6-4 ATS in their last 10 games against the Warriors.
The Kings are 5-1 ATS in their last six games played. Sacramento is outscoring opponents by an average of 11.2 points over their last five games played. Meanwhile, the Warriors haven’t played well against the spread going 1-7 ATS in their last 8 games against the West and 2-6 ATS in their last eight games against teams with winning home records. Golden State is going to win this but I like the Kings at plus 8 points. Prediction: Kings +8
The over is 15-14 for Golden State this season. The over is also 17-10 in Sacramento’s season. The total has gone over in 8 out of 14 road games played by Golden State. The total has gone under in five of 12 home games played by the Sacramento Kings. Head to head, the under is 7-3 in the last 10 meetings between these teams.
The over has hit in five of six games of Golden State when their opponent score 100 or more points in their previous game. The total has gone over in four out of the last five games of the Warriors after an ATS loss in their previous game. The over is also 4-1 in Sacramento’s last five games overall. Prediction: Over 235
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