It’s Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook versus DeMarcus Cousins tonight, as the Oklahoma City Thunder kickoff a four-game road trip against the Sacramento Kings. Expect an explosive matchup between these two Western Conference rivals who are both looking to bounce back from a tough loss. Who’ll come out on top in this one?
[sc:NBA250] Read on below for a complete breakdown of this matchup. If you’re into college basketball as well, check out our preview of the Syracuse Orange vs. North Carolina Tar Heels or Kansas Jayhawks vs. Texas Longhorns.
[sc:NBAArticles ]Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Sacramento Kings Preview
Where: Sleep Train Arena, Sacramento, CA
When: Monday, February 29, 2016, 10:30 PM ET
Line: Oklahoma City Thunder at Sacramento Kings– view all NBA lines
TV Broadcast: NBATV, FSOK
Betting on the Oklahoma City Thunder (41-18)
[sc:NBA250 ]A full day of rest and a road win versus the Sacramento Kings tonight might just be enough to help the Oklahoma City Thunder move on from a deflating 121-118 loss to the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors on Saturday night.
Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook will undoubtedly be leading the charge in taking advantage of the Kings’ horrendous defense (109.2 points allowed per game). Both combined for 63 points, 19 rebounds and 18 assists in the aforementioned setback to Golden State.
Durant, in particular, should be able to put up another incredible performance as he’s played extremely well against Sacramento. The former MVP is posting 27.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.7 assists across 28 career games in this matchup. Durant also relishes playing in front of hostile crowds, averaging 27.9 points, 8.1 boards and 4.6 assists on the road this season.
On the defensive end, the Thunder will have their hands full in locking up the likes of DeMarcus Cousins. That said, the onus falls on Serge Ibaka to stand strong and prevent Cousins or anybody else from getting easy buckets in the shaded lane.
Ibaka is tallying 2.1 blocks a contest, which is the fourth-most in the league today. He also scored a team-high 25 points and had a game-high of five blocks during their second meeting with the Kings on January 4.
Oklahoma City is 7-3 SU and 2-8 ATS in its last 10 road games.
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Betting on the Sacramento Kings (24-33)
After winning three-straight games, the Sacramento Kings are back to their losing ways. They head into this bout with the Oklahoma City Thunder as losers of back-to-back games to the Spurs and the Clippers.
The Kings lost by double-digits in both games and gave up 112.5 points. They can’t afford to continue playing horrible defense especially against a Thunder squad that’s averaging 110.0 points per contest, the second-highest in the NBA right now. But if the Kings continue to do so, it’s hard to see them winning this game obviously.
On the bright side though, Sacramento’s offense is a totally different story. The Kings are averaging 107.1 points per contest (3rd-best in the league) and the pair of DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay is a testament to this scoring onslaught. On the season, both are tallying 27.1 and 18.0 points, respectively.
If those two along with everybody else find their mark, the Kings might just be able to hang around long enough with Oklahoma City and (hopefully) even steal the win.
Meanwhile, Rajon Rondo, who is contributing 11.9 points, 6.3 rebounds and 12.0 dimes, is still questionable to suit up for this game due to a right thumb injury. And if he does end up missing this game, the pressure is on Darren Collison to continue filling in for his void. Collison is posting 13.5 points with 3.9 assists this season.
Sacramento is 4-6 SU and ATS in its previous 10 home games.
Writer’s Prediction
OKC wins, 115-107.
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[sc:NBA620 ]
