NBA Picks and Betting Tips: Los Angeles Clippers vs Sacramento Kings Prediction, 23 November
NLB Staff
22.11.2024 10:23
La Clippers vs Sacramento Kings Prediction
With the Sacramento Kings entering this game with a couple of key injuries that continue costing them, they play a Los Angeles Clippers unit that keeps surprising everyone this season. This matchup will take place on November 23rd at 9:00 A.M. IST in Intuit Dome. Underneath are our betting tips, key player props, vital injuries, and head-to-head trends to create a prediction for this game.
La Clippers vs Sacramento Key Betting Tips & Predictions
1. Los Angeles Clippers vs Sacramento Kings Moneyline Pick
As the current moneyline is -140 in this game, it should be taken with the Kings being favorites to win this game. Having a backcourt with De’Aaron Fox and Kevin Huerter should be able to outplay the likes of James Harden plus Kris Dunn on both ends of the floor. Although they will have an advantage with Amir Coffey being a stronger scorer and rebounder than Doug McDermott, he should tighten it with his defensive prowess. Having Sacramento’s front court being a huge scoring mismatch against Los Angeles with Domantas Sabonis and Keegan Murray leading the way against Derrick Jones Jr. plus Ivica Zubac, the Kings should win their -140 moneyline, making it their third in four previous games vs Los Angeles.
2. Los Angeles Clippers vs Sacramento Kings Point Spread Pick
With the spread being at -2.5 in this game for Sacramento, they should win it due to their all-around talent that is starting to get healthy. Seeing that De’Aaron Fox continues playing with some great agility and quickness, his two-way game has become a problem for most defenders. Someone who can knock down long-distance shots and have creativity in the lane as an elite ball handler, he will go up against a little slower James Harden. As Harden has shown to lose a step, his dribbling and size will still get him points, but Fox should also limit him with quick hands. Even though Harden can get rebounds and make creative passes as well, Fox has been a terrific assist-creator and has an all-around game-plus tempo that outplays the Clippers leader. With Los Angeles having to start Kris Dunn at shooting guard after Norman Powell was ruled out, he will have a tougher time finding his shot against someone who can guard the perimeter like Kevin Huerter. Seeing that Huerter has a great ability to create steals against a weaker dribbler like done, he can create quick threes on the other end in transition. As Amir Coffey will help the Clippers have somewhat of a scoring advantage against Doug McDermott, the Kings' small forward’s defensive abilities won’t let him completely dominate. Seeing that McDermott himself is a great knock-down shooter, this will be much closer than expected and lead to an easier time for Keegan Murray. Knowing that Murray has improved his beyond-the-arc game, he will remain a lethal threat from mid-range and driving in for dunks against a smaller Derrick Jones Jr. With Domantas Sabonis remaining a great all-around threat that can outplay Zubac’s strength as a rebounder, the Kings should win their -2.5 spread with ease.
3. Los Angeles Clippers vs Sacramento Kings Over/Under Pick (Total Points)
Seeing that the over/under in this game is at 224.5 points, both teams should have a great arsenal of scorers to attack with. As this Clippers roster has one of the better scoring guards in the league who can create his shot from anywhere, their small forward continues to remain a key deep shooter. Having a center who really can grab boards and put them back up, they play a Sacramento unit whose point guard continues having an MVP-caliber season on offense. His speed and intelligence help free up space for his shooting guard to get into a three-point rhythm as well, while Sacramento’s power forward continues growing as one of the best scoring wings. Someone who can finish inside or knock shots over defenders with his length, their center will continue being the most vital piece as their best all-around offensive piece. With this in mind, plus they have 205 combined points with a ton of injuries, this game should go well over that scoreline.
Los Angeles Clippers vs Sacramento Kings Top Player Props
De’Aaron Fox over 30.5 points at 1.91: Being one of the quickest guards in the game, Sacramento will rely upon him to be their leading scorer once again. Someone who can create from long-range, his quickness can out-pace someone like James Harden who has shown some regression with age to create great layups. Seeing that Fox averages 28.8 points a night, he should go above his line to expand upon that season average in this matchup.
James Harden over 23.5 points at 1.60: As the Clippers guard has still shown great ability to hit the mid-range game, his ability to hit floaters of pick-and-rolls has been unbeatable as well. Although he has to go up against a premier stealer in De’Aaron Fox, Harden’s ball-handling skills should help him with this battle easily. Someone who is averaging 20.3 points a night, Harden should hit the over on the line in this matchup.
Los Angeles Clippers vs Sacramento Kings Injury News & Impact
Los Angeles Clippers Injuries: As Norman Powell will be ruled out due to a knee injury, 23.3 points, this Clippers roster will have to rely on James Harden to carry the backcourt scoring with a less efficient Kris Dunn stepping up. Having Kawhi Leonard still out will cause Terrance Mann/Amir Coffey to continue stepping into that role as players who are less creative on both ends of the floor.
Sacramento Kings Injuries: With Demar Derozan, 22.9 points, ruled out once again due to a back issue, this group will have to rely on a three and defensive guy in Doug McDermott to take over. Having no Malik Monk due to an ankle injury affects this squad’s depth at shooting, while Domantas Sabonis is most likely returning after dealing with a similar back problem to Derozan.
La Clippers vs Sacramento Kings Head-to-Head Trends
As Los Angeles one last time out, they managed to end a two-game winning streak that was put up by Sacramento in this matchup. In a head-to-head that could go either way, Los Angeles has a slight 3-2 advantage against the spread over 5 previous matchups while both teams have scored 100+ points each in 3 of five. Although both teams have a similar number of victories against each other, another big differential is expected as each of their past three games has had a winner that came out on top by over 8 points.
Betting Insights & Public Trends
Looking at the public trends of this matchup, the Sacramento Kings are favored by 58.3% of bettors to beat Los Angeles in the game.
La Clippers vs Sacramento Kings Final Prediction
As the Kings are expected to get their main piece back in the middle, they should look like a more complete roster during this matchup. Going up against a squad that lost their best two-way piece in Norman Powell for Los Angeles, head coach Mike Brown should be able to take advantage of these mismatches. With De’Aaron Fox starting at point guard once again, his elite ability to attack the rim while also creating shots off the dribble will be a problem for someone like James Harden to handle. Even though Harden has gotten better on the defensive end this season, the tempo at which Fox plays is something unmatched and could help him beat Harden for several good passes to the wings as well. Seeing that Fox has developed his perimeter game and ability to attack guards for drawing fouls too, his defensive arsenal will pose a huge threat against Harden. Although Harden is an elite dribbler and will still get some great looks in this game, Fox’s quick hands to cause steals plus the ability to close out on threes will make it harder for the former MVP as an all-around scorer. Having no Norman Powell next to him will cause Kris Dunn to line up next to Harden against an elite defender in Kevin Huerter. With Dunn being more of an outside shooter and not possessing too many handles, the Kings SG’s job will be just to defend perimeter areas. As Huerter has been a great pick-pocketer this season, he has created a lot of transition opportunities for this unit to finish. Knowing Dunn never had a great defensive game either, the Kings' shooting guard should knock down a lot of long-distance at a higher rate.
With Amir Coffey playing small forward for Los Angeles, he is the one key for them to key the game close with his intensity and rapid pace of scoring. Going up against someone like Doug McDormett though, some of his shot selection will be limited due to the Kings' small forward’s ability to use length near corners for turnover creation of bad passes. Even though McDormett is not a fully well-rounded piece, he can hit the three ball as well and shoot work around screens to find his shot with Coffey trying to recover. Going to small forward, Sacramento will have a huge advantage with Keegan Murray being a much stronger piece that can score inside or outside. As Derrick Jones Jr. is not having one of his better years on defense guarding wings from deep shots, Murray should continue attacking from out there with an urge. Someone who can also cut towards the basket, he has a great length to not get blocked by Jones Jr. when going up for layups or dunks. At center, the Kings should easily win this matchup with Domantas Sabonis returning as a great inside scorer who can stretch the floor, too. With him being a strong rebounder inside, he should have a competitive battle with Ivica Zubac, while also being the better passer. Looking at his all-around abilities, Sacramento’s bench pieces including Keon Ellis and Alex Len should continue playing high-volume minutes. But, if Kevin Porter Jr. and Nicolas Batum can provide a lot of outside shooting, Los Angeles could win this game.
Our prediction: Sacramento Kings win this game and cover their -2.5 spread, while the score goes over 224.5 points.
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