Play-In Time: Warriors vs Kings NBA Betting Lines & Predictions

The defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors find themselves down 1-0 in their Western Conference first-round series against the Sacramento Kings and the Dubs might not have Jordan Poole for Game 2 tonight. Golden State is a short favorite on the NBA odds.

Warriors vs. Kings, Game 2 | 2023 NBA Expert Analysis

How to Bet Golden State at Sacramento NBA Odds & TV Info

When: Monday, 10 PM ET
Where: Golden 1 Center
TV: TNT
Stream: TNT app
Radio: Tunein.com
NBA Odds: Warriors -1 (240 points)

Why Bet on Golden State?

Golden State lost Game 1 126-123 on Saturday. Stephen Curry had 30 points and six rebounds. Curry racked up 30 points (11-20 FG, 6-14 3Pt, 2-2 FT), six rebounds and two assists in 37 minutes. Curry had a chance to send Game 1 into overtime, but his 3-pointer in the final seconds missed the mark. He still finished with a team-high 30 points on 55% shooting from the field, but turnovers were an issue as he racked up a team-high five. Klay Thompson added 21 points, six rebounds and five assists.

Andrew Wiggins closed with 17 points, four blocks and three rebounds. Wiggins returned and looked mostly like his old self after missing 25 games due to family issues. The only missing element from his game was his perimeter shot, as he made only 1-of-8 attempts from beyond the arc – including a crucial missed three late.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr didn’t mind seeing Wiggins get a corner shot with his team down one in the waning seconds. “Take that shot all day long. Left corner 3, that’s his spot,” Kerr said.

Donte DiVincenzo remained in the starting lineup, playing 20 minutes and finishing with 10 points, three rebounds and four assists. Jordan Poole’s minutes took a hit with Wiggins back in action, as he played 22 and accounted for 17 points. Poole is questionable for Monday’s game against the Kings with a sprained left ankle. He played in all 82 games for the Warriors this season including 43 starts and averaged a career-high 20.4 points.

Curry needs seven points to tie Wilt Chamberlain (3,607) for 19th on the NBA Playoffs all-time points scored list. At 18th is Elgin Baylor at 3,623 career playoff points. Curry is the Warriors franchise’s playoff leader in points, 3-pointers made and attempted, field goals made and attempted, and free throws made and attempted. Draymond Green needs two assists to tie Mark Jackson (905) for 20th on the NBA Playoffs all-time assists list.

Golden State has a 24-8 record since 2015 and a 30-10 record since 2013 after a playoff loss, the highest winning percentage during each span. The Warriors have won 18 straight playoff series against West teams. It is the longest streak to date since 1970-71, the first season of conferences.

Why Bet on Sacramento?

De’Aaron Fox was spectacular in his playoff debut for the Kings in Game 1 with 38 points, five assists and three steals. He showed no ill effects from the ankle injury that hampered him a week ago, shooting 48.1 percent from the floor and drilling four out of eight three-point attempts. The odds-on favorite to take home the first Jerry West Award, given to the league’s most clutch player, Fox scored 29 of his 38 points after halftime.

Malik Monk shot 8-of-13 from the field and 14-of-14 from the foul line to finish with 32 points. With Domantas Sabonis and Kevin Huerter combining to shoot 8-of-29 from the field, the Kings needed someone to step up to assist Monk and, to a lesser extent, Trey Lyles were the two who answered the call. Monk was in attack mode throughout the night, shooting better than 50% from the field and making all 14 of his free throws. As for Lyles, he added 16 points and six rebounds in 18 minutes off the bench.

Fox and Monk both attended Kentucky and became the 1st pair of teammates who attended the same college to each score 30 points in a playoff game since Clyde Drexler and Hakeem Olajuwon for the Rockets in 1995. They were also the 2nd duo to score 30 points with both making their playoff debut. The other was Alonzo Mourning and Kendall Gill for the 1993 Hornets.

The Kings’ offensive surge was overwhelming even by their standards. They scored 69 points in their final 45 possessions of the game, a scorching 1.53 points per game. The fans were spectacular in the Kings’ first playoff game since 2006.

“Our fans were off the charts. It was deafening in there. It was extremely loud,” Kings head coach Mike Brown told reporters after the game. “So you gotta take your hat off to them cause they brought it for us tonight and you could feel the energy.”

Game Trends

• Warriors are 2-6 ATS in their last 8 games after allowing more than 125 points in their previous game.
• Warriors are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games following a ATS loss.
• Kings are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 home games.
• Warriors are 1-4 ATS in the last 5 meetings.

Expert Prediction

Warriors 122, Kings 120

The defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors were wildly inconsistent during the 2022-23 regular season and landed as only the sixth seed in the West. They open defense of their title on Saturday night at No. 3 seed Sacramento with the game near a pick’em on the NBA odds.

Warriors vs. Kings, Game 1 | 2023 NBA Expert Analysis

How to Bet Golden State at Sacramento NBA Odds & TV Info

When: Saturday, 8:30 PM ET
Where: Golden 1 Center
TV: ABC
Stream: ESPN+
Radio: Tunein.com
NBA Odds: Warriors -1 (total 238.5)

Season Series

Golden State won three of four meetings this season, including the most recent one on April 7 in Sacramento, 119-97. Klay Thompson scored 29 points and Stephen Curry added 25. Trey Lyles and Chimezie Metu each scored 15 points to lead the Kings, who rested their top three scorers with De’Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis and Kevin Huerter all getting the night off. These neighboring franchises had never made the playoffs in the same season previously since the Kings moved to Sacramento for the 1985-86 campaign.

Why Bet on Golden State?

The Warriors closed the regular season on a three-game winning streak, hanging 157 points on Portland in the finale on Sunday in a blowout. The Dubs set an NBA record with 55 first-quarter points. Steph Curry had 26 points and Klay Thompson, who scored 20 points, became the third player in NBA history to hit at least 300 3-pointers in a single season. He led the NBA with 301 makes.

Curry ended the season with averages of 29.4 points, 6.3 assists and 6.1 rebounds per game while shooting 42.7 percent from deep, his best mark since the 2018-19 campaign. Jordan Poole had 21 points and finished averaging 20.4 points and 4.5 assists. He was a rare player in the NBA to play all 82 games.

The Warriors had 19 games this season with 20-or-more 3-pointers made, the most such games in a single season in NBA history. The Warriors broke a tie with the 2018-19 Rockets (18). The team scored 349 points off of offensive rebounds grabbed by Kevon Looney’s league-leading 271 offensive rebounds. The 349 points are the most in the NBA this season off of offensive rebounds. The second-most points is 320 from Sacramento Kings center Domantas Sabonis’ 246 offensive rebounds (ranked fourth in the NBA).

Golden State averaged 118.9 ppg this season, second-highest scoring average in the NBA behind Sacramento (120.7 ppg). The Warriors also ranked second in 3-point field goal percentage (.385 3P%).

Golden State has 18 consecutive playoff series wins against Western Conference teams. The last time the Warriors lost a playoff series against a Western Conference team was in 2014 when they fell to the Los Angeles Clippers, 4-3 in the first-round series. It is the longest streak to date since 1970-71, the first season of conferences. Golden State has had 18 consecutive playoff series in which it has won at least one road game, an NBA record streak that began with a road victory in Denver in the First Round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs.

Why Bet on Sacramento?

Sacramento is in the playoffs for the first time since 2006, ending not just the longest playoff drought in the NBA but in all four of the major US pro leagues. Kings Head Coach Mike Brown was an assistant coach for the Warriors for six seasons (2016-22), including three championship runs (2017, 2018, 2022).

De’Aaron Fox has scored 20+ points in 9 of his last 15 games, including 25 points or more in 6 of those outings, averaging 23.7 points and 5.6 assists per game on 50.8% shooting in that span. Fox was one of the league’s top scorers this season in crunch time as the Kings guard is averaging 5.0 points per game in those instances, which ranks fourth in the NBA. Fox also ranks first in field goals made (72) while shooting 52.9% from the floor, which ranks sixth among players with a minimum of 40 field goals attempted in those instances. In the fourth quarter this season, Fox has totaled 547 points (203-402 FG), ranking first in the NBA in total Q4 points.

Domantas Sabonis ranks first in double-doubles (65), second in rebounds per game (12.3) and first in total rebounds while sitting second in triple-doubles (14). The seventh-year center-forward is averaging 19.1 points, 12.3 rebounds and 7.3 assists per game as he is on pace to become the fourth player in NBA history to notch averages of at least 18.6 points, 12.2 rebounds and 7.0 assists.

Kevin Huerter has been impactful for the Kings this season, averaging 15.2 points per game while shooting 40.1% from behind the 3-point line. Among players who have attempted at least 250 3-point field goals this season, Huerter ranks 26th in 3-point field goal percentage as the fifth-year guard has made five or more 3s in 11 games. Malik Monk is currently averaging 13.6 points and 3.9 assists per game off the bench.

The Kings’ 118.6 offensive rating is the highest in NBA history, in part because the pick-and-roll offense featuring Sabonis and Fox has been spectacular. The Kings outscore opponents by 10.0 points per 100 possessions in the clutch — fourth best in the NBA.

Game Trends

• Warriors are 11-4-1 ATS in their last 16 games playing on 3 or more days rest.
• Warriors are 32-14 ATS in their last 46 Conference Quarterfinals games.
• Kings are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 home games.
• Kings are 1-6 ATS in their last 7 games playing on 3 or more days rest.
• Warriors are 5-13 ATS in the last 18 meetings.

Expert Prediction

Warriors 120, Kings 118