NBA: LA Clippers vs. Sacramento Kings Preview, Odds, Prediction

The LA Clippers beat the Lakers on Thursday night and now travel to Sacramento to meet the Kings. It is another division matchup for Doc Rivers’ guys, who are projected to be the top contender for bringing down the Golden State Warriors in the Pacific. Meanwhile, the Kings hope to end a 16-year playoff drought and finally reach the postseason. Their fanbase is frustrated with all sorts of excuses and failures, so the pressure on the Kings is pretty high.

Preview

LA Clippers (TBA, 1-0) defeated the Lakers in their opening game of the NBA season. This was the eighth consecutive victory for the LAC over the purple and gold, and slowly, they are becoming a nightmare for the local rivals.

That game ended 103-97 in favor of Doc Rivers’ unit. The Clips’ head coach decided to rotate a lot, and players like Wall or Kawhi started on the bench. Wall and Paul George had 15 points each, while Kawhi added 14, the same as Ivica Zubac, who had fantastic 17 boards and five blocks.

Marcus Morris Sr. also delivered 14 buckets, while Luke Kennard dropped 11. The Clippers made only nine threes in 29 attempts, which is extremely low for their standards. Also, they outrebounded the rivals 58-38.

Sacramento Kings (TBA, 0-1) had a great preseason, winning game after game, but when it mattered the most, on the opening night of the new season, they lost. Portland Trail Blazers were victorious at the Golden One Arena, 115-108, breaking the Kings’ resistance in the closing moments of the event.

Jerami Grant was the man who took the win to Oregon with a couple of clutch shots in the finish. De’Aaron Fox scored 33 points, had seven boards and seven assists, but lost eight possessions. The energetic guard hit five threes and was 12-for-21 from the field.

Kevin Huerter was solid with 23 points, 6-for-9 for three, and Terence Davis added 14 buckets off the bench. Points from the pain were problematic for the Kings, who had 38, and allowed 56. Sacramento had five turnovers more than its rivals, 11-16.

Head to Head Games

These teams played four times during the previous season. The Kings won the opening two meetings, both at home, 124-115 and 104-99, while the Clippers claimed encounters in which they had the home-cour advantage, 105-89 and 117-98.

By the way, the record in the all-time series is 119-102 for the Kings.

Prediction

When we measure all the players and all the areas of the game, the unanimous decision is that the Clippers are a much more gifted and balanced team. First of all, they have three All-Star-caliber guys, Kawhi, PG and Wall, and many role players who would easily play in the Kings’ starting lineup. That’s why we don’t see any other pick here but the guests’ victory. In general, they are better and nevermind the home crowd, the Clipps are massive favorites, and anything but success would be a surprise. Also, we expect to see John Wall more active, especially on the offensive side of the ball, so he could drop 20+ points and have 10+ assists.

Pick: Clippers win