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The Sacramento Kings will play the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night. It's time to continue our NBA odds series and make a Kings-Thunder prediction and pick.
Both of these teams are playing about as expected so far. The Kings are embracing their yearly ritual of hanging around just behind the eighth seed in the Western Conference for the entirety of the season, while the Thunder have been losing at the rate expected of a team in a full rebuild. Oklahoma City has actually gone on a recent run, winning their last three against decent competition. This matchup is a great opportunity to extend that winning streak, as the Kings have dropped their last three contests. One team's streak will end tonight, so this should be an entertaining matchup.
Here's how the bookmakers have set the lines for Friday's Kings-Thunder matchup.
NBA Odds: Kings-Thunder Odds
Sacramento Kings: -5 (-110)
Oklahoma City Thunder: +5 (-110)
Over: 218.5 (-110)
Under: 218.5 (-110)
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Why The Kings Can Cover The Spread
Surprisingly, the Kings field one of the better offenses in the NBA. Sacramento currently averages nearly 111 points per game, making them the fifth-best offense in the league by that measure. More importantly, the Kings have fantastic shooting numbers across the board. Head coach Luke Walton's squad ranks inside the top ten in the NBA in effective field goal percentage, two-point shooting percentage, and shooting efficiency. This Kings offense has already proven itself to be a tough task for any opposing defense.
At first glance, Sacramento hasn't been particularly good against the spread. Over the entire season, the Kings are exactly .500 ATS, but things improve when we look at this specific matchup. Sacramento has covered the spread four out of six times away from home this season, and they've covered in their only game as a road favorite. The Kings have also gone 3-1 ATS as a favorite on the year. This seems like another good situation for Sacramento.
Why The Thunder Can Cover The Spread
Oklahoma City has been deceptively good on defense this season. The Thunder allow an average of 106 points per game, which is right around league average. Their other statistics, however, are far better than average. Oklahoma City only allows their opponents to shoot 43% from the field, one of the best defensive numbers in the league. The Thunder also allow one of the lowest shooting efficiencies in the NBA. Sacramento is clearly a good offense, but there's reason to believe that Oklahoma City can slow them down at the very least.
The Thunder also have some pretty good numbers against the spread. They've covered the spread 60% of the time overall, but like the Kings, their numbers improve in this specific matchup. Oklahoma City have covered three out of four games as a home team and three out of four as a home underdog. The Thunder haven't entered a single game this season as a favorite, and they have a respectable four wins to their name. This won't be an easy cover for the Kings.
Final Kings-Thunder Prediction & Pick
The Kings are a little too unreliable to pick as such big road favorites here. The Thunder have defended their home floor well this season, and they should continue that trend here.
Final Kings-Thunder Prediction & Pick: Oklahoma City Thunder: +5 (-110)
