The Sacramento Kings will host the New Orleans Pelicans in the quarterfinals of the 2023 NBA In-Season Tournament on Monday, December 4th. De'Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis, and the Kings have the third-best odds to win the tournament. Sacramento also has the best odds among West teams, which essentially means they are the favorites of being the conference's representative in the NBA In-Season tournament Finals in Las Vegas.

The Kings booked their spot in the Knockout Round by sweeping through Group C. They clinched the group after a scintillating come-from-behind win over the Golden State Warriors in their Group Play finale last Tuesday. Sacramento just needed to avoid losing to Golden State by 12 points or more, but it fell behind by as much as 24 points at one point and had to dig itself out of a huge hole. Nonetheless, the Kings, not only got the job done but took the win as well thanks to late-game heroics by Malik Monk and some costly Warriors miscues in crunch time.

Now, they must get past Zion Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans to get to the West semis, where they will go up against either the Phoenix Suns or Los Angeles Lakers. Should they get to the Championship Round, they could potentially face the Milwaukee Bucks or the Boston Celtics, the teams with the two best odds to win the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament.

Why Kings will win the 2023 NBA In-Season Tournament

Motivation

The Kings enter Monday's Knockout In-Season Tournament game against the Pelicans as 4.5-point favorites to advance to the semi-finals, which will also be held in Las Vegas. This comes even though Sacramento just suffered two defeats in three nights to New Orleans when the team visited the Smoothie King Center over a week ago. The first one, which was 129-93 mugging, came on the heels of a back-to-back set for the Kings. With that, look for the Kings to enter this game in front of a raucous Golden 1 Center crowd ready to light up the beam.

As if that's not enough motivation for the Kings, perhaps their first-round loss in the playoffs motivates them to prove that their run as the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference last season wasn't a fluke. Sure, Sacramento took the then-reigning champion Warriors to the limit. But they did lose in pretty embarrassing fashion at home as Steph Curry erupted for 50 points in their building.

The Kings already exacted revenge on the Warriors by taking them out of the In-Season Tournament. But for a team hungry to prove itself, winning the NBA Cup is the tangible evidence they can take with them to say that they are indeed a serious threat in the Western Conference.

De'Aaron Fox is playing at an MVP level

De'Aaron Fox's MVP play another reason why the Kings can go all the way in the NBA In-Season Tournament. According to FanDuel, Fox has the second-best odds to win tournament MVP at +600, just behind Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum.

The left-handed point guard has elevated his game to another level. In 12 appearances this season, Fox is averaging 30.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 5.8 assists while shooting 48.9 percent from the field. He has also taken massive strides with his three-point shot, where he is connecting on 36.3 percent from beyond the arc, while making a career-high 3.1 threes per game.

Fox's growth as a three-point shooter has made him into a legitimate three-level scorer. Apart from his offensive gifts, Fox has also become a terrific defender. He is always willing to take on the challenge of defending best offensive guard on the opposing team. His tenacity and effort on the that end of the floor make him one of the top two-way guards in the league.

Kings' balance of star power and depth

The Kings also have perhaps the best balance of star power and depth among the teams remaining in the 2023 NBA In-Season Tournament. They have arguably a top-three duo in the tournament with De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis. They also have high-level role players who complement the games of their stars very well.

Fox and Sabonis are right up there with the likes of the Lakers' LeBron James and Anthony Davis, Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, the Celtics' Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, and Phoenix's Kevin Durant and Devin Booker as one of the best duos left in the tournament.

Moreover, they also have terrific shooting and depth across their roster with the likes of Malik Monk, fresh off his game winner against Golden State, Kevin Huerter, Harrison Barnes, and EuroLeague MVP Sasha Vezenkov, who is slowly adjusting to the NBA game.