Game Time: 6:00 PM ET, Saturday, April 9th, 2022 

Venue:   Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, California

Where to Watch: NBA League Pass

DraftKings:  Spread:  

Fanduel:  Spread:  NL

BetMGM:  Spread: NL

Kings: 29-51, 12th place Western Conference

Clippers: 40-40, 8th place Western Conference

A Western Conference NBA matchup with the final game of the season looming.  Both these teams struggl;ed this season… One struggled because they have the worst owner in sports… the other struggled because they have the best owner in sports and some injuries to their star players.   The Sacramento Kings do have the worst owner in sports.  Vivek Ranadive ponies up very small coin to fill his coaching and front office staffs… the result is a directionless mess.  The Kings also seem to be constantly making the same mistakes… like letting players walk without getting any return, making bad trades, and drafting poorly.  Now it is not all as easy as I make it seem… you can’t always win trades or make the best picks… but to keep failing is a different story.  The Kings are a Western Conference garbage fire.  They will not make the playoffs again for the umpteenth time!  They did not put a winning product on the floor for the umpteenth time (my umpteenth is about 20 seasons)... and they failed to lose themselves into good position for the #1 pick on the draft… which for God’s sake the Kings should never have! That would guarantee the ruin of a promising player.  The Clippers have the best owner in sports.  Steve Ballmer assembled a big team of quality people., he gave them the resources to build a great winner… he just suffered from injuries to the stars. The Clippers without their stars are actually a scrappy good team.  The foundation is great PG Reggie Jackson, C Ivica Zubac and C Isaiah Hartenstein, SG Luke Kennard, combo guard and forward Terrance Mann, PF Marcus Morris SR… it’s all pretty good… They were missing SF Paul George and SG Kawhi Leonard for most of this year… and at the trade deadline the scooped SF/SG Norman Powell from the Portland Trail Blazers… then Norman went down with injury.  The Good News going into the playoffs is that they recently got back Paul George and Norman Powell… and both those guys have had BIG GAMES in big wins.  The playoff seeding may be low.. But the Playoff potential could be the sky!

The Sacramento Kings have won 4 of their last ten games. They went 5-5 ATs during that stretch.  They are even further mathematically eliminated than the Los Angeles Lakers above them in the standings.  The history of NEVER betting on the Kings has been solid.  They can not be counted on even if you do the math.  The history of losing and losing big would make you think you could bet on them to lose…Nope!  It turns out that the point spreads on Kings games is all over the map… the results are also all over the map.  To give you a clearer picture… they not only are slightly less reliable than a coinflip ATS.. they have been for a dozen years!  They could lose big, or play tight, or simply win big… because the team has no direction whatsoever.  The King’s numbers are shamefully unreliable.

The Los Angeles Clippers have won 4 of their last ten games… they are on a 3-game win streak.  They went 3-7 ATS during that stretch.  The last 3 wins have been very important for securing the “play-in” tournament.  The recent return of SF/SG Norman Powell who had 24 points in his first game back after missing 7 weeks of action… bodes well for winning the play-in and being a very tough out for whoever lands them in a first round playoff series.  There are rumors tha Kawhi would return for playoff games… but those rumors seem silly.  Kawhi actually does not want to or like playing basketball… he likes the paycheck.  He has had problems being on the court on 3 teams now.  Eventually the team should be entirely built around PG13 and Norman.  If Kawhi plays that would be gravy… but it should never be counted on.  Kahwi is just one of those lucky few people on earth that picked up a free 250 million. 

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The Kings are 29-51 on the season, but 38-41-1 ATS.  They have logged 43 Overs, 36 Unders, and 1 Push.  They are 13-26 in road games. For every road game they won they have lost two this season.

The Clippers are 40-40 on the season, but 39-41 ATS.  They have notched 37 Overs, 40 Unders, and 3 Push.  They are 23-16 in home games.  For every home loss they have won two this season.

The Kings are 16th in scoring with 110.4 ppg, 26th in rebounds with 43.0 per game, and 22nd in AST/TO ratio with 1.7. On defense they rank a terrible 29th while allowing 115.8 ppg from opponents.

The Clippers are 23rd in scoring with 107.9 ppg, 22nd in rebounds with 43.8 per game, and 20th in AST/To ratio with 1.7.  On defense they rank 11th while holding opponents to 108.8 ppg.

Our prediction for Saturday, April 9th is…..   Clippers 120 - Kings 102

The Clippers will stamp this win.  They have to, they are still trying to work Paul George and Norman Powell into playoff shape.  The Kings are already filling out resumes for next seasons potential employers so the stars (the Kings above average players) will be on the bench.

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(will update tonight when the numbers settle)

Kings: DE'Aaron Fox (hand) Out ** PF Richaun Holmes (personal) Out ** PF Domantas Sabonis (knee) Out ** C Alex Len (back) Quest ** SG Terrance Davis II (wrist) Out

Clippers: SG Kawhi Leonard (knee) Out ** SG Luke Kennard (hammy) Quest ** 

Kings: SF Harrison Barnes, PF Trey Lyles, C Damian Jones, SG Justin Holiday, PG Davion Mitchell

Kings: Alvin Gentry

Clippers: Tye Lue