Game Time: 10:00 PM ET, Thursday, February 24th, 2022 

Venue: Golden 1 Center, Sacramento Kings

Where to Watch:  NBA League Pass

DraftKings:  Spread:  Warriors -9

BetMGM:  Spread:  Warriors -8.5

VegasInsider:  Spread: Warriors -9

WynnBet: Spread:  NL

Nuggets: 33-25, 6th place Western Conference

Kings: 22-38, 13th place Western Conference

Another hot Western Conference matchup coming out of the all-star break!  It doesn’t seem like a hot matchup because the Kings are the Kings… but the Kings recently completed a trade to add Domantas Sabonis to the fold… and no matter what you think about who won the trade?... Sabonis can play now.  The Kings have a quality point guard, a bunch of wings, a young backup point guard, and Sabonis.  The Nuggets on the other hand may have the best player in basketball in 7’0 Center Nikola Jokic.  Jokic piles up stats in every category.  Jokic has actually confused what he term Most Valuable Player means… because without a doubt Jokic is everything to his team literally… and with #2 option SG Jamal Murray out for the rest of the season… and #3 option PF Michael Porter Jr Out for maybe ever since he had his third back surgery… ands #4 option Aaron Gordon demonstrating year after year that he has no ability to step up his game in any situation… The entire team is Jokic.  Jokic leads the Nuggets in Points, Assists, Steals, FG%, Rebounds, and Blocks… and they still have a winning record!  Jokic returns from the All-Star game having gotten little run or usage… he is rested and singlehandedly could beat the Kings… Because to get a win he will have to.

The Nuggets have won 6 of their last ten games.  They have also gone 7-3 ATS during that stretch.  Just before the all-star break the Nuggets beat the Golden State Warriors 117-116.  A super close last second win that was entirely on the shoulders of Nikola Jokic’s performance.  They are technically on a three game winning streak… the Kings should help them extend that.

The Kings have won just 4 of their last 10 games.... while going 6-4 ATS.  They got a little pop following the addition of Sabonis, but because they are the Kings it has cooled off.  They are on a 2-game losing streak.  Taking losses from the Chicago Bulls right before the break and the empty of players Brooklyn Nets the game before that.  It's tough to be a fan of the Sacramento Kings... they are on a dismal two decade rough patch.  I get it when a team misses on a draft pick or loses a trade... but two decades of the same things over and over is just poor ownership.  It feels like no one behind the scenes hasd the stomach to point the ship in the right direction and stay the course during rough weather.  

AAA Sports has LONG OWNED the pro hardwood! The NBA is BACK, and so is AAA Sports, ready to BLOW THE DOORS off the sportsbooks! Join them with a weekly or monthly all sports subscription and prepare to watch your "ROI" go through the roof!... Don’t miss out! Get AAA Sports’ picks!   You can discover the best  picks right now at the Shop Picks page, where you can find all of the Best Bets from our champion sports handicappers. NCAAF, NFL, MLB, college football… get positive value from all your bets! Expert picks!  Fun fact… winning a wager is much better than making a wager!

Denver Nuggets are 33-25 on the season, but 26-31-1 ATS.  They have logged 31 Overs, 26 Unders, and 1 Push.  They are 17-15 in road games.

The Sacramento Kings are 22-38 on the season, but 27-33 ATS.  They have notched 30 Overs, 29 Unders, and 1 Push.  They are 15-17 in home games… but a lot better at home than on the road.

The Nuggets are 13th in scoring with 109.9 ppg, 21st in rebounds with 43.9 per game, and 7th in AST/TO ratio with 1.9. They are ranked 12th on defense while allowing 107.8 ppg from opponents.

The Kings are 14th in scoring with 109.9 ppg, 24th in rebounds with 43.7 per game, and 24th in AST/TO ratio with 1.6.  On defense they rank a dismal 29th while allowing 114.9 ppg.  The team loses games because they are no good on defense… to make matters worse the trade that subtracted Tyrese Haliburton actually made them worse on defense… though Sabonis is a touch better on offense.  We will see how the numbers break.

Our prediction for Thursday, February 24th is….  Kings 110 - Nuggets 108

This is an upset worth betting on.  The Kings are the Kings and won’t be great this season… but the Nuggets are due for a collapse.  They have been riding Jokic hard to get hard earned wins.. If he falters in any game the Nuggets will lose.  Plus DeMarcus Cousins is taking a game off which leaves no real backup behind Jokic.

Don't miss our champion handicappers' Free NBA Picks and Premium Selections every day here at Bigal.com. Just click on Shop Picks for our Best Bets, or click on Shop Subscriptions to

join for a week or a month. And if you enjoyed this Nuggets/Kings Preview, be sure to bookmark Bigal.com for our daily Game Previews and Predictions.  Get help with all your college football picks, National Football league, NCAA brackets, or any prop bets on your season schedule. 

Nuggets: C DeMarcus Cousins (personal) Out ** SG Jamal Murray (knee) Out ** PF Michael Porter Jr (back) Out

Kings: PG Davio Mitchell (hand) Quest ** SG Jeremy Lamb (ankle) Out ** SG Terrence Davis II (wrist) Out for seasons.

Nuggets: PF Jeff Green, SF Aaron Gordon, C Nikola Jokic, SG Will Barton, PG Monte Morris

Kings: SF Maurice Harkless, PF Harrison Barnes, C Domantas Sabonis, PG De’Aaron Fox, SG Justin Holiday

Nuggets

Points: Nikola Jokic 26

Assists: Nikola Jokic 7.9

Rebounds: Nikola Jokic 13.8

Steals: Nikola Jokic 1.3

Blocks: Nikola Jokic 0.7

Kings

Points: De’Aaron Fox 21.8

Assists: Tyrese Haliburton 7.4 (gone)

Rebounds: Domantas Sabonis 11.5

Steals: Donte DiVencenzo 2.3

Blocks: Jeremy Lamb 2.0 

Nuggets: Michael Malone

Kings: Alvin Gentry