Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports/Sipa USA – Photo by Icon sport
Golden State Warriors vs Sacramento Kings: Is this the end for the Warriors?
The Golden State Warriors and the Sacramento Kings are going into a must-win game tonight at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.
The Warriors are in good form
The Golden State Warriors finished in tenth place in the Western Conference with a 46-36 record. They won eight of the last 10 games and are coming off a 123-116 win over the Utah Jazz. The Warriors are fourth in the league, averaging 28.3 assists per game, and are ranked eighth, averaging 117.8 points per game. Steph Curry is the top scorer on the team with 26.4 points per game, followed by Klay Thompson with 17.9.
Can the Kings handle the pressure?
The Sacramento Kings finished ninth in the Western Conference with a 46-36 record. They lost five of their last seven games and are coming off a 121-82 win over the Portland Trail Blazers. The Kings are ninth in the league, scoring 116.6 points per game, and are ranked fourth, making 14.4 three-pointers per game. De’Aaron Fox leads the team with 26.6 points per game, while Domantas Sabonis averages 19.4 points, 13.7 rebounds, and 8.2 assists per game.
Betting Trends
Golden State has won 14 of the last 20 games against Sacramento and has covered the spread in 4 of the last 5 against them. The Warriors are 1-5 ATS in the last six games overall and 1-4 ATS in the last 5 games against teams from the Western Conference. The Kings are 6-3 ATS in the last nine games overall and 4-1 ATS in the last five home games.
Prediction and Conclusion
These two teams faced each other in the opening playoff round last season, with the Warriors escaping with a Game 7 road win. Steph Curry scored an NBA record at the time with 50 points in the decisive game. The Warriors will need another epic performance from their best player in order to stay alive in the playoff race. There is no doubt that the Warriors have been through a lot and have faced pressure like this before, while the Kings are still a young team with no players having significant playoff experience. Still, that does not cut out the Kings, who have learned their lesson from the last season. Fox and Sabonis know what they need to do, and the Kings fans are some of the best in the league. Given all that, the Kings will manage to keep pace with the Warriors and cover the +3-point spread at the end.
