NBA: Sacramento Kings VS Los Angeles Clippers Pick and Predictions 12/03/2022

Game: 4:10 PM ET,  Saturday, December 3rd, 2022

Venue: Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, California

Where to Watch: NBA League Pass

Kings: 11-9, 6th place Western Conference

Clippers: 13-10, 5th place Western Conference

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Clippers -1.5, O/U 227.5

PointsBet: Point Spread: Clippers -1.5, O/U 228.5

Fanduel: Point Spread: Clippers -2, O/U 228

Kings: PF Keegan Murray, SF Harrison Barnes, C Domantas Sabonis, PG De’Aaron Fox, SG Kevin Huerter

Clippers: PF Marcus Morris SR, SF Terance Mann, C Ivica Zubac, PG Reggie Jackson, SG Amir Coffey

A Western Conference matchup that actually means something.  Two California teams that are wedged into the 5th and 6th spots in the West… could end up battling all season long for these positions.  The Sacramento Kings, in true Sacramento Kings fashion, are finally not a lottery team… in the only lottery that has had this much potential since the LeBron draft 19 years ago… It is that good a draft, the top 2 players (Victor and Scoot) will be franchise players.  However the Kings are good now… are they ready to win at a level above “good”?  The Los Angeles Clippers are good at the moment, but were touted as Finals favorites when the season began.  SF/SG Kawhi Leonard is simply not coming back from injury the player he once was… and he is not entirely back from injury at all.  The Clippers are in 5th place with a roster that should be in 1st place… but can’t take the bandages and heating pads off long enough to actually get there.  The great betting opportunity will be found entirely in the Clippers availability.  Either the Clippers are “80% there” and blow out the Kings at home… or the Clippers are 70% there and get blown out at home.  Let’s check that injury list.

The Sacramento Kings just snapped a 3-game losing streak with a win against the Indiana Pacers (a good team) 137-114… The losing streak was Suns, Celtics, and Hawks… all loaded rosters that may be better than the Kings.  The Kings have actually reached the place where they consistently beat losing teams… that is a big jump for a team that has spent two decades at or near the bottom.  It literally means that with a couple of wins against winning teams the Kings will keep moving along as a good team.  That is exactly the kind of progress a team like this should not overlook.  In the win over Indiana the Kings got contributions from everybody. 11 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists from C Domantas Sabonis, 22 pts from SF harrison Barnes, 19 pts from DeAron Fox and 20 pts from bench G/F Malik Monk.  Terence Davis, Kevin Huerter, Keegan Murray all scored in double figures as well… It was an offensive onslaught.  The Kings can do this over and over again as long as the opposing team is not top ten in defense.

The Los Angeles Clippers are easily top-ten in defense… in fact top-five. It makes up for the soft Clippers scoring. The Clippers lost their last game against the Utah Jazz 125-112.  In the loss PG John Wall had 26 points, 5 assists.  That is a great sign for the Clippers since 20 point scorers Paull George, Kawhi Leonard, and Norman Powell all missed the game with injury.  The Clippers are a powder keg for sure… If all those guys returned to 100% form they may be the best roster in league history… really… 4 20 point a game scorers with a tough as nails very deep bench… but none of those guys seem to be healthy for longer than a game or two before sitting out again.  The Clippers are a question mark… the sort of question mark that gives up 33 points to Utah SG Jordan Clarkson.. While being a great defensive team.

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SAC: 11-9, 13-7 ATS, 10-9-1 O/U, 4-5 in away games.

LAC: 13-10, 11-12 ATS, 7-16 O/U, 7-5 in home games.

The Kings are 2nd in scoring with 119.9 points per game, 25th in rebounds with 41.9 per game, 5th in AST/TO ratio with 1.8, and 30th in blocked shots with 3.3 per game.

The Clippers are 30th in scoring with 107.2 per game, 19th in rebounds with 43 per game, 28th in AST/TO ratio with 1.4, and 18th in blocked shots with 4.8 per game.

Our prediction for Saturday, November 3rd is….  Kings 119 - Clippers 105

Bet on the Kings to cover the spread.  The Clippers will simply be missing 4 of their top 6 guys… Leonard, Powell, PG-13, and Kennard.  They won’t have enough offensive firepower to match up.

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3 of 4 games between these teams in Los Angeles have gone UNDER the total the last 3 seasons.

30 of 50 games have gone UNDER since 1996.

Kings: PF Keegan Murray.  When anyone talks about the Kings they will tell you about C Domantas Sabonis, PG De’Aaron Fox… and maybe SF Harrison Barnes and the fact that Harrison has a distant past ring with the Golden State Warriors.  PF Keegan Murray has taken the role left vacant by draft bust and current Pistons bench player Marvin Bagley III.  The team is playing better but Keegan is not making a dent.  Keegan averages 8.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 0.5 assists… as a starter with 25 minutes a night. Keegan’s defense is pretty good… but if he doesn’t show vast improvement soon… the Kings trade target at the deadline will be for a starting power forward.

Clippers: SF Terance Mann.  Terance is a “do it all” guy… just none of it at an all-star level.  He plays D, he can score, he can drive, he can shoot.  The Clippers recently switched Terence from the 2 guard to the small forward… and put SF Amir Coffey into the 2-guard role.  This was all done to take defensive pressure off of Amir Coffey.  Watch Terance and you will be watching a guy who can do all of it enough to stay in the league forever… but none of it good enough to become a big $$ player. 

Kings: Mike “cowbells instead of celebrities?.. It’s a living” Brown

Clippers: Tye “c’mon guys” Lue.