Sacramento Kings vs New Orleans Pelicans betting tips and predictions for Monday’s NBA game on NBA TV. Just 48 hours after their clash in South Beach the Hawks and Heat run it back for a 4th and final time this regular season. Read on for all our free predictions and betting tips.
Sacramento Kings
The Kings just had a 5-game win streak snapped by the Minnesota Timberwolves in a high scoring game. That defeat was a tough one, with a win they could have gone level with Memphis for the 2nd seed in the Western Conference. With the Grizzlies seemingly expected to struggle in the coming weeks, it’s important for Sacramento to continue playing at a high level as the Phoenix Suns and are lurking behind them.
Tonight’s game could be a tough one if De’Aaron Fox isn’t available, he’s currently questionable with a hamstring injury. Against the Pelicans the Kings have struggled a bit lately, winning just 2 of the last 6 meetings while also covering just twice during that stretch. However, with 5 wins in their last 6 games the oddsmakers still favor them by 6 points here.
New Orleans Pelicans
The Pelicans are in a similar spot here, they are just a half game ahead of the Jazz and Lakers in 9th place in the West right now. A couple of loses here and there could ruin all the good things they’ve done in the season so far. With just 1 win in their last 6 games, they are one of the worst teams coming out of the all-star break. That’s mainly due to injuries though, with the likes of Josh Richardson, Larry Nance Jr., Zion Williamson and Jose Alvarado all out with injuries.
Jonas Valanciunas is also questionable with a calf injury, so Brandon Ingram and C.J. McCollum will bare the responsibilities both on offense and defense here. New Orleans has gone just 2-10 SU on the road in their last 12 games, three-point shooting has been a disaster lately as they’ve managed to score double-digit threes just twice in their last 8 games.
I have to go with Sacramento here. They are in much better state when it comes to injuries, and there’s also the revenge factor we have to consider as the Pelicans beat them by 32 points about a month ago. Back the Kings at home.
Sacramento Kings vs New Orleans Pelicans Predictions & Odds
The projected total has been set at a pretty high 238.5 points here, we did see 240 in that first meeting of the season, however this current Pelicans team looks nothing like the one that dropped 136 in that game. With their defensive struggles spanning over 2 weeks now, I’m worried they won’t be able to score enough points to get us over the hump in this game.
Sacramento has been involved in some high scoring games as of late, but I think head coach Mike Brown will turn his attention to the defensive end a bit more in the coming weeks as that aspect of their game will be important in the postseason. These two teams have split the last 10 meetings on the O/U going 5-5, with an average of 231.3 points per game scored. I think we’ll see a similar number tonight, so let’s go under the total in this one.
