The team that everyone loves to discount, the Sacramento Kings, are on quite the streak for bettors who have chosen to back them. Sac-Town is 9-4-1 ATS this season and 7-2-1 ATS in its last 10 games. Oddsmakers are giving the Kings 6.5 points to play with tonight in Tennessee and they should have a good chance of increasing their betting value.
- The Kings are 7-3 SU and 7-2-1 ATS in their last 10 games.
- The Grizzlies are 9-2 ATS in their last 11 games as home favorites.
- The total has gone UNDER in 15 of the Kings’ last 19 games vs the Grizzlies (avg. combined score: 194.32).
Kings in the Top 10 of Offensive Categories
Sacramento has been shooting the lights out and therefore has the NBA’s No. 9 scoring offense coming into tonight’s game with the Grizzlies’ No. 1 scoring defense. The Kings are shooting 48.2 percent from the floor and a sparkling 38.7 percent from three-point land. It’s not surprising, then, that Sacramento is putting up 114.5 points per game.
Four of the Kings’ starters are averaging double digits in points, led by Buddy Hield and De’Aaron Fox, who are both averaging 18.7 points per game. Fox is an outrageous 51 percent from the floor as a point guard while big man Willie Cauley-Stein is 57 percent from inside.
Grizzlies’ Defense Causes Trouble for High-Octane Offenses
Even though Memphis has the No. 29 scoring offense in the NBA, it has had great success by keeping offense-heavy teams away from the basket. The Grizz have the No. 1 scoring defense at 101.6 points per game and they’ve gone 3-1 SU and ATS in the last 10 days with wins over Denver, Philadelphia and Milwaukee.
In the first meeting between these teams on October 24, the Kings came away with a 97-92 victory, showing that they’re just fine with playing low-scoring games. In fact, 15 of the last 19 games between these teams have gone UNDER the closing total with an average combined score of 194.32. Despite those numbers, the total opened at 213 for tonight’s game.
My Pick For This Game
I’m OK with both Sacramento +6.5 and UNDER 213 points in this game. The Kings’ previous four games have hit the UNDER and now they’re going up against the top defense in the NBA. The fact that this is likely to be a lower-scoring game gives me confidence in taking the underdog with a 6.5-point spread.
Despite winning seven of their last 10 games SU, the Kings have only been a favorite once this year. I think they’re still being undervalued and I like the spot they are in as an underdog against a low-scoring opponent.