Golden State Warriors vs. Sacramento Kings Predictions, Picks and NBA Preview – January 8, 2017

Golden State Warriors vs. Sacramento Kings Betting Preview

Where: Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, CA

When: Sunday, January 8, 2017, 9:00 PM ET

Line: Golden State Warriors (-11.5) at Sacramento Kings (+11.5); total: 222.5 – view all NBA lines

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Betting on the Golden State Warriors (31-6)

Point Spread: -11.5

Leave it to the Memphis Grizzlies to show the rest of the league that the Golden State Warriors are not as invincible as they seem. The Grizzlies stole a win in overtime from the Warriors on Friday, 128-119, to become the only team in the NBA to have defeated the best team in the West twice this season.

It appeared as if Golden State was in for another surefire victory, but the team blew a massive 24-point lead at home to the Grizz after suffering a huge power outage on offense in the fourth quarter and overtime by going an ice-cold 5-of-22 from the field during those last two periods combined. Not only that, but the Warriors’ defense has now given up an average of 29 points in the fourth quarter over the past seven games.

All things considered, though, the Warriors still got plenty of production from their brightest stars. Stephen Curry scored 40 points and Kevin Durant finished with 27 points and 13 rebounds against Memphis, giving their fans assurance that this freak of a loss can be chalked up as a rare anomaly.

Plus, the Dubs still have an on-going streak of 123-consecutive games without back-to-back losses (an NBA record that continues to grow), and Sacramento isn’t duly equipped to snap that monumental streak at all this Friday. Throw in the fact that Golden State has won 12-straight meetings against its Pacific Division rival (9-2-1 ATS), and you can pretty much rest assure that the Curry and gang will bounce back with a vengeance from their humbling defeat indeed.

Betting on the Sacramento Kings (15-21)

Point Spread: +11.5

The 106-98 defeat to the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday has got to be a demoralizing loss for the Sacramento Kings, who have now lost two-straight home games to kick off their seven-game homestand.

Sacramento’s defense – or lack of it – is what’s dragging the team down back to mediocrity. The Kings have given up an average of 108 points to their opposition during their last five games, wherein they’ve lost four of those five contests (SU/ATS) and after a season-high four-game win streak in December all the worse.

DeMarcus Cousins squandered another stellar performance on Friday, as he went off for 25 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. However, he was also called for his league-high 11th technical foul of the season, and having a pissed off Boogie is the last thing that the Kings want if they are to recover from this slide and make the most out of their next five games in Golden 1 Center.

On the bright side: veteran forward Rudy Gay stepped on the court on Friday for just the second time in 12 games after dealing with a hip injury and finished with a decent 18-point, seven-rebound night against the Clippers.

Then again, not even the collective prowess of Gay and Cousins may be able to stop the fired up Warriors on Sunday, especially with how they haven’t been able to stay competitive at all against their division rivals from The Bay. The Kings lost to the Dubs by double-digits in eight of their last nine meetings and by a whopping average of 20 points within that span at that.

Writer’s Prediction

The Warriors (-11.5) take their frustrations out on the Kings in emphatic fashion, 123-97.

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