The Los Angeles Clippers will hit the road and take on the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday. It's time to continue our NBA odds series and make a Clippers-Kings prediction and pick.
These two teams have been having somewhat similar seasons. The Los Angeles Clippers are 16-15, yet they have lost their last three games. The Sacramento Kings are 13-19 and also coming off a disappointing loss. This should be an interesting match between two teams trying to bounce back from dispiriting defeats.
Here are the odds for the Clippers-Kings Wednesday night NBA matchup, courtesy of FanDuel.
NBA Odds: Clippers-Kings Odds
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Los Angeles Clippers -5.5 (-114)
Sacramento Kings +5.5 (-106)
Over 219 (-110)
Under 219 (-110)
Why The Clippers Could Cover The Spread
The Los Angeles Clippers have had to battle all season long, managing to scrape out a winning 16-15 record over the first 31 games of the season. However, this team has been struggling lately and has lost its last three games.
The Clippers' most recent loss came against the San Antonio Spurs by an embarrassing margin of 24 points. Injuries have certainly taken their toll on Los Angeles, so Wednesday will be another major test of its depth. The Clippers will be looking to turn things around against another beatable opponent. If they can improve on their last performance and come together as a team, then they should be able to steal this win on the road.
The Clippers were dominated in their last game. San Antonio put on a clinic, taking 24 more shots than the Clippers and making 16 more. The only area where LA had the edge was in free throws. The Spurs took a shockingly low six free throws while the Clippers took 20. Where San Antonio was particularly dominant was in rebounding and assists. The Spurs had an astonishing 67 rebounds in that game compared to the Clippers' 43. San Antonio also dished out more than double the Clippers' amount of assists. If LA wants to win on Wednesday, then rebounding and ball movement is what they need to focus on. There's no way the Clippers can win games when they let other teams out-rebound them by more than 20.
While the Clippers aren't dealing with much COVID adversity, they are still impacted. Marcus Morris Sr. is the only Clipper in the league's health-and-safety protocols currently, and he will miss Wednesday's game. Isaiah Hartenstein will also miss Wednesday's contest with an ankle injury. However, LA can't use these missing players as an excuse. Paul George needs to step up and play like the impact player he is.
If PG and the rest of this Clippers team can rise to the occasion on Wednesday, then they should have no problem taking down the Kings.
Why The Kings Could Cover The Spread
The Sacramento Kings have endured a disappointing regular season thus far, with a 13-19 record over its first two months. In their most recent game against the Golden State Warriors, they were defeated by 15. The Kings will look to turn things around on Wednesday.
Sacramento will be battling with themselves as they try and overcome the devastating impact of COVID. If the Kings can be competitive in this game then they might be able to win it. It's a big ask of a crippled team, but Sacramento has shown it has the heart and commitment to maybe just pull it off.
The Kings were behind the Warriors in nearly every statistical metric on Monday. However, the depleted Kings actually exceeded expectations in that match. Sacramento managed to keep pace with Golden State from deep, actually shooting threes at a higher efficiency than the Warriors. Golden State had the edge in rebounding and assists, but not by a notable margin. Nothing really stood out from that game besides the condensed scoring of Sacramento. The Kings scored 30 or more points in both the second and third quarters, yet they scored less than 20 in the first and fourth quarters. Sacramento needs to start and finish games better if they want to compete with tough competition.
Sacramento has been drastically impacted by COVID. The Kings have six players in the league's health-and-safety protocols. Most notably, De'Aaron Fox, Marvin Bagley, Alex Len and Davion Mitchell will not be available for Wednesday's contest. They have been out since December 17th, so at least the team has had some time to adjust to its new roster of available players.
Sacramento continues to lean on Buddy Hield and Harrison Barnes, who have both been playing 40 minutes a game. If those two guys can step up on Wednesday, then Sacramento has a shot at pulling off this upset.
Final Clippers-Kings Prediction & Pick
This is not an easy pick. While the Clippers have a healthier roster right now, they have been struggling much more than Sacramento. The Kings did lose to the Warriors by a lot, but Golden State might be the best team in the NBA. With a woefully short-handed roster, Sacramento managed to beat the Spurs by seven points, a team that had just dominated the Clippers.
Sacramento has shown that they can battle through adversity, and they could continue to do so on Wednesday. Side with the underdogs, pick the Kings to cover.
Final Clippers-Kings Pick: Sacramento Kings +5.5 (-106)
Final Clippers-Kings score prediction: Clippers 102 – Kings 101
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