Sacramento Kings vs. New Orleans Pelicans Preview
Where: Smoothie King Center — New Orleans, Louisiana
When: Friday, March 31, 2017, 8:00 PM ET
Line: Sacramento Kings (+10.5) vs. New Orleans Pelicans (-10.5); total: 207.5 – view all NBA lines
TV Broadcast: FSNO / CSNCA
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Betting on the Sacramento Kings (29-46)
Point Spread: +10.5
The Kings need a huge effort from their big men here. They are, after all, faced with an arduous task of stopping a pair of unstoppable 6-foot-11 giants in Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins.
Willie Cauley-Stein and Kosta Koufos have unpolished offensive games, but they have the size, speed and athleticism to block shots, force difficult attempts; and control the glass. Sacramento, however, hasn’t done a good job in crashing the boards this season, ranking among the worst in the league with just 49.0 rebounds per contest.
Offensively, the Kings have looked underwhelming since trading Boogie away. The lack of a go-to guy, has forced them to rely mostly on basically whoever gets hot. Darren Collison has been leading the way as of late, averaging 18.0 points and 4.0 assists in the last three games.
Ben McLemore, meanwhile, hopes to provide more for the Kings after tying his season-high of 22 points during Wednesday night’s loss in Utah. Sacramento is 3-7 SU and 5-5 ATS in its previous 10 road games.
Betting on the New Orleans Pelicans (32-43)
Point Spread: -10.5
In what should be an emotional matchup against the Kings, DeMarcus Cousins can’t let the lingering attachments to his former team and teammates dictate his performance. The Pelicans remain hopeful for a playoff spot, despite being 4.5 games short of the eight seed in the west.
Cousins needs to play like the way he did during Wednesday’s 121-118 victory over a visiting Mavs squad. The All-Star big man, who was returning from a two-game absence, finished with 29 points and 16 rebounds, while his fellow Kentucky product—Anthony Davis—led everyone with 30 points and 13 boards.
This “tall ball” offense is still at its developmental stages, but it’s only a matter of time before this style arguably changes the landscape of modern basketball. The Pelicans will try to continue finding success with this approach against a Sacramento defense that allows 42.9 points in the paint per contest.
New Orleans has won seven of its last 10 games overall, going 6-4 against the spread in that stretch.
Writer’s Prediction
Give this one to the Pels (-10.5). I see them covering the double-digit spread, too.
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