NBA: Brooklyn Nets vs. Sacramento Kings Preview, Odds, Prediction

The Brooklyn Nets and the Sacramento Kings promise a good fight at the Golden One Center on Monday night. These two sides are very potent in offense and aren’t that much focused on defense, which is why we might expect a massive number of points. The Nets won two in a row, while on the other side, the Kings have three losses, after an excellent stretch during which Luke Walton’s side happened to be one of the hottest teams in the league. But this is NBA, and the situation changes on a daily basis.

Preview

Brooklyn Nets (16-12, -166) beat the Golden State Warriors in their first game of the tour through the West, during which they need to encounter Suns, Lakers, and Clippers as well.

Against GSW, we saw a pretty versatile attack with six players in double-digit points, and three more close to that limit. Kyrie Irving and James Harden agreed about the Beard taking over the playmaking duties. We now see him as a point guard, and to be honest, it is a major refreshment.

Harden had 19 points against the Warriors, with 16 assists and 8 boards, dropping five threes in eight attempts. Since landing in Brooklyn, the Beard averages 11.6 dimes, with 23 points and 8.1 boards, but is much more rational than before. We guess that playing alongside Durant and Irving has something to do with that, don’t you?

Sacramento Kings (12-14, +145) won four in a row before dropping three straight matches. Though, we need to say that they didn’t have De’Aaron Fox and Marvin Bagley in some of them. Both weren’t on the court once the Kings lost to Magic, and last night, the Grizzlies defeated them using the fact that Bagley skipped this one as well.

We need to share one opinion with you. Tyrese Haliburton should replace Buddy Hield in the starting lineup. The confirmation of that claim was obvious last night. Hield receives $20+ million per year, but plays significantly worse than expected. With him posting just 15.9 points and 37.1% of shooting from the field, we are sure that the Kings are now regretting choosing him over Bogdan Bogdanovic this offseason.

Haliburton’s per is 18, while Hield’s is 10, so that days a lot to our advantage here. The 20-year old drops 12.5 points, with 5.3 assists 50.4% of shooting. Case closed here. The youngster needs to be involved more in Sacramento’s attack, preferably to start or to be the leader of the second unit. He dropped 22 vs. Memphis, shooting 9-for-14.

Head to Head Matches

Right now, the Nets have four consecutive wins over Sacramento. Last year they would beat them in California, 119-106. The game in New York ended 116-97.

Prediction

Nets are so strong that it is just a matter of time when they will start putting some big-time winning series. The spread Harden and the boys need to cover in this one is -4, and even though we love the Kings, they can’t challenge the super-trio from Brooklyn. If Sacramento couldn’t beat the Grizzlies or the Magic, seeing them routing the Nets is highly unlikely, regardless of having or not having Bagley available.

 

Here you have the preview for the game between the Miami Heat and the LA Clippers.