Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Sacramento Kings Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 2/9/2022

Time: 10 p.m. ET

Venue: Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, CA

Where to watch: NBCSCA, BSN

FanDuel: Timberwolves -5

BetMGM: NL

Caesars: NL

Timberwolves: 28-25 (7th, West)

Kings: 20-35 (13th, West)

A back-to-back in any sport, even against the same team, would normally call for the opposite of what happens the night before. But we can rule out any hope of the Sacramento Kings winning Wednesday's back-to-back at home against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

I don't even want to talk about the game. That alone is a crime to talk about the Kings losing, potentially, back-to-back games against the Timberwolves. What we need to talk about is the strong ineptitude from the Kings yet again, because none of what happened Tuesday morning makes sense and Sacramento needs to have tomatoes thrown at them.

The Kings acquired Domantas Sabonis (great!), Jeremy Lamb (cool!) and Justin Holiday (not bad!) on Tuesday in a trade with the Indiana Pacers for Buddy Hield (they wanted to move him anyway, so fine), Tristan Thompson (a crowded frontcourt, I get it) ... and Tyrese Haliburton.

What on Earth?

You mean the same Haliburton that said on the day he got drafted that he wanted to be a part of the culture to save the Kings? The same Haliburton that fell to you in the NBA Draft to pair for an electrifying backcourt with De'Aaron Fox? The same Haliburton that, on most nights, was your best offensive player and gave fans reason to actually come watch your pathetic product?

That Tyrese Haliburton?

I get it from this standpoint. Sabonis is an All-Star player who is a walking 20-10 guy and was a bright spot on that struggling Pacers team. He may not be the superstar you need to build around, but he's at least a player you can market. He also has two years left on his mega deal, which 100 percent means he's not staying in Sacramento beyond that, which is just one of the major problems anyone with a walking basketball sense should have when it comes to this.

It is incomprehensible to think this team, no matter who is running it, has any idea what they're doing. And now Kings fans are fully convinced that their team is going to make the playoffs after all of that nonsense. How can we possibly live in this world knowing such a thing like this exists? How do you trade away someone that actually wanted to play for your pitiful organization? And to top it off, you get a guy that's not even guaranteed to be there once his contract runs up.

Anyway, let it be known that the Timberwolves will likely take on a depleted Kings team one day before the trade deadline and should handle this with ease. We should all hope that Anthony Edwards dunks on somebody and takes the Kings' collective soul; and we should hope Karl-Anthony Towns erupts for 30-10 on both nights. Timberwolves by 20

The over is 20-7 when the Timberwolves are on the road this season.

The Kings are 42-54 ATS at home the past three seasons.

PG: Jaylen Nowell

SG: D'Angelo Russell
SF: Anthony Edwards
PF: Jarred Vanderbilt
C: Karl-Anthony Towns

PG: Davion Mitchell

SG: Robert Woodard II
SF: Harrison Barnes
PF: Mo Harkless
C: Richaun Holmes

Timberwolves: Patrick Beverley (day-to-day)

Kings: Domantas Sabonis, Jeremy Lamb, Justin Holiday (out, trade), Marvin Bagley III (ankle, out), De'Aaron Fox (ankle, game-time decision).