Knicks-Kings Preview: Sacramento to Light the Beam

We’ll stay up late tonight to see the Sacramento Kings play host to the New York Knicks under the national spotlight in what should be an exciting, fast-paced game between two up-and-coming teams.Knicks @ Kings Game Information

• Location: Golden 1 Center | Sacramento, CA
• Time: 10:00 p.m. ET | TV: TNT

With all due respect to Sacramento, it’s Sacramento. They have gotten little national attention this year and continually get glossed over, but man, they’re awesome. Currently tied with the Grizzlies for the second seed in the West, Sacramento’s squad has everything.

The tandem of De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis has provided a great one-two punch, with a well-constructed roster of role players and shooters surrounding them. They might be a year early for true contention, but they will not be an easy postseason out.

New York’s made a statement lately that they might finally no longer be a pushover in the East. Sitting as the fifth seed, the Knicks have won nine of their past ten.

Jalen Brunson has burst onto the scene, being a primary reason for the Knicks’ leap, as he’s averaged 28.1 points per game since the start of February. Brunson is listed as questionable tonight after missing two straight games, so if he cannot go, expect Immanuel Quickley to remain a starter.

• Spread: Knicks +2 (-110) | Kings -2 (-110)
• Moneyline: Knicks (+110) | Kings (-130)
• Total: Over 239.5 (-112) | Under 239.5 (-108)

In years past, this would have been a late-night slop fest that no one would be watching. Now, this should be a must-watch for basketball fans, as most people have not had the opportunity to sit back and watch Sacramento hoop.

Their offense is explosive as it gets, ranking first in the league in points per game with 121.1 while shooting the second-best from the field. The Knicks are going to put up a great opposition, but this is the Kings’ night to relish the opportunity. Light the beam and the -2. 

• De’Aaron Fox OVER 4.5 Rebounds (+124)
• Keegan Murray OVER 11.5 Points (-113)
• Murray 15+ Points/Kings to Win (+330)
• Julius Randle UNDER 8.5 Rebounds (-130)

De’Aaron Fox has gone over 4.5 rebounds in four of his past ten games and grabbed four boards three times over that span. The Knicks surrender the fourth-most rebounds to opposing point guards. Additionally, in the Knicks’ past three games, the opposing starting point guard has tallied at least five boards, so we’ll bank on Fox reaching four.

In Keegan Murray’s past five games, where he has received his normal workload, he surpassed 11.5 points in each. Murray is a well-balanced scorer who will benefit from the high-paced game and has a matchup advantage with the Knicks, allowing the most points in the league to opposing small forwards. For added value, we like the player performance double for him to reach 15 points and for the Kings to win at over 3-1 odds. 

Julius Randle’s rebounding production has subsided as of late, failing to reach double-digits in seven straight games, going under 8.5 in five. We’ll play his under as the Kings allow the fewest rebounds to opposing power forwards, with Randle already hitting this under in the clubs’ two previous matchups.