Subscribe
Follow Us
The Sacramento Kings are playing the second game in their three-game home stand against the Oklahoma City Thunder. With that said, it’s time to continue our NBA odds series and make a Thunder-Kings prediction and pick.
The Thunder have won only one of their last ten games and are currently riding a six game losing streak for a record of 21-47 and the 13th seed in the Western Conference.
The Kings on the other hand have won six of their last ten games for a record of 29-38 as they are trying to make a late push for a spot in the play-in tournament for the Western Conference.
Here’s how sportsbooks have set the opening Thunder-Kings odds.
NBA Odds: Thunder-Kings Odds
Oklahoma City Thunder +9 (-110)
Sacramento Kings -9 (-110)
Over 223 Points (-110)
Under 223 Points(-110)
Why The Thunder Could Cover The Spread
Injury Report: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (out), Mike Muscala (out), Aleksej Pokusevki (out), and Ty Jerome (day-to-day).
The season for the Thunder is more or less over as they are no longer in the hunt for a spot in the play-in tournament for the Western Conference.
The two stars, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Al Horford, are also out for the remainder of the season for Coach Mark Daigneault.
Aside from those two, the Thunder only have four players averaging double-digit points with Dort leading the way at 14.1 points per game. The other three players are Darius Bazley, Ty Jerome, and Theo Maledon.
As a team, the Thunder are ranked with the absolute worst offensive rating and also the 9th worse defensive rating in the entire association.
Article Continues Below
Fortunately, the Thunder are dealing with a very empty-handed Kings team and so the key will be to come into the game with more energy than the Kings.
Why The Kings Could Cover The Spread
Injury Report: De’Aaron Fox (out), Harrison Barnes (out), Tyrese Haliburton (out), Robert Woodard II (out), and Buddy Hield (questionable).
The Kings have been incredibly inconsistent this year and more so as of late. The Kings recently won four straight games without many of their starters, including wins against the Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas Mavericks, and Indiana Pacers.
During this stretch, Sacramento’s role players have really stepped up, in particular Delon Wright, Buddy Hield, Richaun Holmes, and Marvin Bagley III, to fill the offensive void left behind by Fox, Barnes, and Haliburton.
Again, this Sacramento team will be without their stars and possibly including Buddy as well. That said, Luke Walton will need to get his other starters and players off the bench to step up and make up for a lot of lost production with all these players.
The area the Kings have struggling in is on the defensive end of the floor but fortunately, they are matching up against the worst offensive team in the league. The key for the Kings will be to find enough offensive production with so many players out and so that might entail running the offense through Bagley who has been playing incredibly well
Final Thunder-Kings Prediction & Pick
The Thunder are the worst offensive-rated team in the league and also in the bottom 10 for the best defensive rating. The Kings are not that much better as they are the worse defensive rated team in the association. Despite how well the Kings have been playing as of late, Coach Walton is missing too many pieces, especially if Hield sits out, to cover the spread against the Thunder. That said, the Kings will pick up a critical win as they inch closer to a spot in the play-in tournament but will not be able to cover the spread.
FINAL SCORE PREDICTION & PICK FOR THUNDER-KINGS: OKC 114, SAC 118 (OKC +9)
