An inner-California battle is set to take place as the Kings will be travelling to face off with the Warriors. Nobody wants to see Steph Curry right now, and Sacramento will probably have some major issues trying to slow him down with the personnel they’ll be running out there. Even at full strength, this is an extremely unideal situation.
De’Aaron Fox is going to be out for another week at the least, as he goes through health and safety protocols. To make matters worse, they’re also without starting center Richaun Holmes, forcing Hassan Whiteside into mop-up duty and Chimezie Metu in as the backup. Moe Harkless has been providing good minutes for the team in recent weeks, but the matchups here might eat them alive.
Golden State opted to bring Kelly Oubre Jr. off the bench in the last game, something we haven’t seen all year. This was likely a result of not having Damion Lee available. He, like Fox, is now in health and safety protocols, and will be badly missed. He’s hit a number of clutch shots on the season, and his minutes are huge as he serves as the primary bench scorer. They are also without James Wiseman (for the season) and Kent Bazemore. Eric Paschall remains out.
ODDS:
The Warriors are heavy favorites, the spread set at GSW -9.5. The over/under is 229 points.
Kings Look to Keep Play-in Hopes Alive
Few folks around the league have confidence in the Sacramento Kings, when they’re healthy. Throw some key injuries into the mix, and it becomes a situation that you just hate to see. Fox and Holmes being out takes out the two most athletic and impactful players that the team has. Holmes is shooting the ball extremely well, while being a good setup artist and defender.
Fox is as explosive as any guard in the NBA, and has been scoring 30+ points nearly nightly of late. Not having him means your best scorer and also passer is not here. As good as Buddy Hield can shoot the three, there are several areas of the game where he fails to make any sort of impact. If they don’t stop Curry, they will get crushed.
Warriors Seek to Move Over .500
The high point of the season for the Warriors is still yet to come. Steph has put up some big lines, Draymond has been a great dime-dropper, and Wiggins and Oubre have both had some terrific nights. But, at 30-30, the year is still a letdown. When you have the best shooter on the planet, you should be able to use that to have an offense that isn’t ranked in the bottom five in the league.
When Klay Thompson comes back next year, they will be lethal. He’ll have missed two seasons in a row, but once he gets going, nobody wants to try and cover him. He and Curry are called the Splash Bros for a reason, and the reuniting will be great.
Look for Juan Toscano-Anderson and Jordan Poole to play big minutes off the bench again.
Dubs Win Big
It won’t be close. Sorry Kings, but maybe next time.
FREE PLAY: WARRIORS -9.5
OVER/UNDER: OVER 229
