Chicago Bulls at Sacramento Kings Betting Preview
Monday night features a battle of East versus West as the Chicago Bulls (41-26) take on the Sacramento Kings (24-45). The Kings will host this one at Golden 1 Center, with tipoff scheduled for 10:00 pm ET.
These two have played once before this season, with the Bulls winning at home 125-118 back on February 16. The Kings will look to repay the favor at home Monday night.
With 15 games left, the Bulls currently sit in fourth in the Eastern Conference. In their last game, the Bulls took down the Cleveland Cavaliers 101-91.
In the win, DeMar DeRozan tied for a game-high with 25 points. Nikola Vucevic had a double-double with 20 points and 14 rebounds.
The Kings come into this one 13th in the Western Conference, four games back of the Pelicans for the last playoff spot. On Saturday, they lost to the Utah Jazz 134-125.
De’Aaron Fox led the way for the Kings in the loss with 41 points to go along with 11 assists and three rebounds. Harrison Barnes added 18.
The Bulls are the favorites Monday despite playing on the road. They are -215 to win while the Kings’ moneyline sits at +180. The spread features Sacramento +5 (-110).
More Odds
The Bulls are currently +1900 to win the Eastern Conference, sixth-best odds in the East. The Kings are +49000 to win the West.
In terms of the NBA Finals, the Bulls have the better odds of winning it at +3600. The Kings are tied for the worst odds in the NBA at +50000.
By The Numbers
Chicago has the better of the two offenses this season. They rank ninth in scoring averaging 112.3 points per game (109.8 on the road). The Kings rank 15th averaging 110.2 points per game.
Defensively, it is again Chicago with the advantage. They rank 17th in scoring defense allowing 110.7 points per game. The Kings rank second to last in the entire NBA, allowing 115.5 points per game.
Bulls Continue To Fight Through Injuries
Despite the Bulls’ success this season in the East, they have had to deal with injuries since day one. Even getting Alex Caruso back on Saturday, Zach LaVine sat out of the game to rest his injured left knee. His availability on Monday remains questionable.
Leading the way for the Bulls’ offense this season is small forward DeMar DeRozan. In 63 games, he is averaging 28.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 5.1 assists.
Nikola Vucevic has also been stellar, averaging a double-double with 18 points and 11.5 rebounds. The big man also averages 3.4 assists, a steal, and 1.1 blocks per game.
Still, with LaVine questionable and both Lonzo Ball and Patrick Williams out, the Bulls will be trying to win on the road shorthanded.
Kings Trying To Fight To Stay In Contention
It is not out of the realm of possibility that the Kings could make the playoffs this year, but they definitely need to start picking up wins in a hurry. Unfortunately for Kings’ fans, they have struggled all season, regardless of whether they have been on the road (9-25) or at home (15-20).
The Kings are also in the midst of a four-game losing streak and will look to snap that against the Bulls at home.
Leading the Kings’ offensive attack is De’Aaron Fox. On the season, he is averaging 23 points to go along with 3.9 rebounds, 5.6 assists, and 1.1 steals per game.
Trade deadline acquisition Damontas Sabonis has also played well. In 11 games with the Kings, he is averaging 17.4 points, 12.8 rebounds, and 5.9 assists per game.
The only other major threat for the Kings is small forward Harrison Barnes, who is averaging 17.3 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game.
Take The Bulls To Win And Cover On The Road
Obviously, the availability of Zach LaVine could have a huge ripple effect on this one, but the Bulls are trying to take advantage of a soft part of their schedule while the Kings just can’t seem to get out of their own way.
Even at home, where they are a little better than on the road, the Kings have been abysmal. Expect the Bulls to win this one with relative ease. For that reason, take Chicago to win and cover the five-point spread.