A year ago, DeMarcus Cousins was a talented player only held back by his temper. But a World Championship gold medal may have cured the big man of his issues as he hasn’t been more focused before than he is today. As a result, the Sacramento Kings are quickly becoming one of the top teams to watch this season. The Kings still have a long way to go before being classified as a legitimate contender, but a win against a more established squad in the Memphis Grizzlies should make fans and experts buzzing again about Sacramento’s potential.
Can Cousins and tag team partner Rudy Gay lead the Kings to a win over powerhouse Memphis? Or will the Grizz’s Grit-n-Grind approach deal Sacramento its third loss in a row?
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[sc:NBAArticles ]Sacramento Kings vs. Memphis Grizzlies Betting Preview
Where: FedExForum, Memphis
When: Wednesday, November 13, 8:00PM ET
Line: Sacramento Kings at Memphis Grizzlies – view all NBA lines
Betting on the Sacramento Kings
The Kings have been among the early surprises this season notwithstanding their meltdown last Monday, when they allowed the Dallas Mavericks to overcome a 24-point deficit for a 106-98 win.
[sc:NBA240banner ]Behind the tandem of the visibly more mature DeMarcus Cousins and versatile forward Rudy Gay, the Kings have been able to turn heads with their surprising start to the season. Memphis, with its traditional big man combo of Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol, should find it hard to matchup with the mobility and athleticism of Cousins and Gay. Cousins is a double-double machine, putting up 22.1 PPG and 11.7 RPG thus far this season.
Gay, on the other hand, leads the team in scoring with 22.8 PPG to go along with 7.3 RPG. Of the two, it’s Gay who’ll likely wreak more havoc against the Grizzlies. Gay is a walking mismatch: too big for defensive specialist Tony Allen to guard but too quick for either Randolph or Gasol to guard in perimeter isolation plays. Plus Gay has a long range, which would enable him to unclog the shaded area on offense to create driving opportunities for Ben McLemore, Darren Collison, and Ramon Sessions.
Sacramento is the league’s second best rebounding team with 46.9 RPG. The Kings have also made a killing on the charity stripe, largely because opposing teams simply could not find an antidote to Cousins and Gay. The Kings take an average of 36.6 attempts on the free throw line, making 29.5 of them. Cousins has 8.8 FTA per game, while Gay has 7.9
The Kings are 2-0 ATS in their last two trips to Memphis.
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Betting on the Memphis Grizzlies
The Grizzlies are back to their business of drubbing teams. After suffering their first defeat of the season (93-92 vs. Milwaukee), the Grizzlies bounced back by beating the Los Angeles Lakers Tuesday, 107-102, to improve their record to 7-1, tied for best in the league.
Mike Conley had a field day dominating the Lakers guards as the former Ohio State Buckeye scored 23 points and added three assists and three steals. The Grizzlies also got scoring support from the team’s role players in Tony Allen and Courtney Lee, who had 12 and 15, respectively. The Grizzlies aren’t a high-scoring team. In fact, they are only averaging 94.8 PPG. But contributions from the likes of Allen, Lee, and the bench are going to be critical for Memphis, especially when facing a team like the Kings, who present a puzzle for the Grizzlies’ top rated defense.
Memphis is the best defensive team in the NBA right now, allowing opposing teams to score just 89.4 PPG.
Gasol and Randolph may be slow-footed giants who don’t have the speed to keep up with Cousins and Gay, but the Grizzlies can opt to double team any of the Kings big men. The Grizzlies can afford such a gamble as the Kings haven’t been good in shooting threes, only draining an average of 4.8 triples per game, the worst mark in the NBA this season. That enables Memphis to worry more about Sacramento’s cutters than with their kick-out passes.
Memphis is 7-0 SU in its last seven meetings with the Kings.
Writer’s Prediction
Memphis wins, 98-93.
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