Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports/Sipa USA

Sacramento Kings vs New Orleans Pelicans: Who is going to the playoffs tonight?

The New Orleans Pelicans and the Sacramento Kings are fighting for the last spot in the Western Conference playoffs tonight at the Smoothie King Center in The Big Easy.

The Kings showed their character

The Sacramento Kings finished ninth in the Western Conference with a 46-36 record. They lost five of their last seven games if the regular season but played their best basketball eliminating the Golden State Warriors 118-94. Keagan Murray was the player of the game scoring 32 points for the Kings. Sacramento is 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.

Zion Williamson is out for the Pelicans

The New Orleans Pelicans finished seventh in the Western Conference with a 49.33 record. They lost 110-106 at home against the Los Angeles Lakers in the fight for the seventh seed in the West. New Orleans is ninth in the NBA, shooting 48.6% from the field, and is ranked fourth, shooting 38.3% from deep. Zion Williamson leads the team with 22.9 points per game, while Brandon Ingram averages 20.8.

Betting Trends

New Orleans has won the last five games against Sacramento, all five by covering the spread. The Pelicans are 4-2 SU in the last six games overall, 12-6 SU in the last 18 games against teams from the Western Conference and 2-5 SU in the laast seven home games played on Friday. The Kings are 10-4 SU in their last 14 games played on Friday.

Prediction and Conclusion

Both teams have a completely different momentum going into this game. The Kings paid the Warriors back for last season’s Game 7 loss and probably put an end to the Warriors era. Now they are going to New Orleans to complete the job against the Pelicans and make it to the playoffs. That will not be easy at all, as the Pelicans have won the last five games against the Kings. But one thing makes a lot of difference, and that is Zion Williamson’s injury, which will not allow him to play tonight. The Pelicans leading scorer hurt his groin with three minutes to go in the game against the Lakers and is out indefinitely. The Pelicans will have to rely on Brandon Ingram, who recently got back to action, and CJ McCollum. The Pelicans are still competitive even without Zion, but Sacramento is at full speed, and that will be enough for the Kings to advance to the playoffs and face the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round.