The Kings are on their way to face Detroit. With only a few games remaining for both teams, the playoffs loom even larger. The Kings strive to maintain their home court play-in spot at ninth, while the Pistons sit just a game behind fifth. Tonight should be a solid matchup.
Keegan Murray Questionable
Jake LaRavia Out
Jalen Duren Questionable
Tobias Harris Out
Jaden Ivey Out
With the seasons wrapping up soon, the Kings still need to complete one last road trip as they finish a six-game stretch in Detroit. With only three more games at home after this one, the Kings are firmly locked into the Western play-in game. Currently sitting at 9th, they’ll at least have home court advantage if they can maintain it. The Mavs are just a half-game behind the Kings, making tonight’s game potentially crucial for their play-in aspirations. Regardless of their playoff outcome, it’s hard to view this King's season as anything but disappointing.
The Kings have gone from young and promising to mediocre and older. Losing Fox in a trade, acquiring DeRozan, and LaVine this season has been an overall downgrade for this team. Even with the team looking more talented on paper, the glaring holes on the court have sunk their season again. Even though the season may not have boiled down the way they wanted, they’re still a dangerous team for the Pistons.
The Pistons need to maintain scoring pressure tonight. They’ve improved significantly on both ends of the court this year, with Cade making a tremendous leap. Overall, this team has centered around Cade as the primary option, followed by whoever is performing well as the secondary option. Since Ivey's injury, there hasn’t been a reliable second scoring option, with Beasley being the closest player to fulfill that role. However, we’ve seen plenty of other faces step up this year, as Hardaway, Sasser, Harris, and even their rookie Holland have had productive games over the last couple of weeks. That doesn’t mean this group doesn’t have its own flaws.
We’ve seen the Pistons struggle against size and strong interior defense. They’ve lost some important games to Memphis, OKC, and Minnesota over the past week, with scoring being the primary limitation. If this team isn’t able to force its way into the paint, they typically have a much more challenging time scoring. That probably won’t be a problem tonight against Sabonis. Even though he’s been great, the Kings don’t possess the paint defense to seriously challenge Detroit tonight.
The Pistons should be able to take the Kings tonight. Detroit is just a more well-rounded team with better size. Their ability to take the ball into the paint and challenge Sacramento’s weak point of attack defense will be key. Unless the Kings are shooting at an extremely high rate from three, this game should go Detroit’s way.
Money line: SAC (+220) / DET (-270)
Total Points: 230.5
Spread: +7 SAC (-110) / -7 DET (-110)
Detroit is the stronger defensive team tonight. They’ll have advantages all around the court, and their physical style of play should make it challenging for the Kings to attack offensively. With home court advantage for Detroit as well, they should be able to take this one, thanks to the strength of Cade, who has been outstanding as the season comes to a close. While the Kings have some advantages in scoring, Detroit's size and strength should be able to disrupt them.
We haven’t seen either of these teams running up the score lately. The Kings have only reached the 231 mark a few times in the last couple of weeks, struggling frequently to surpass 110, especially when they face more defensively oriented teams. As for the Pistons, they simply lack scoring options. Beasley has been fantastic alongside Cade, but with Harris likely out tonight, scoring won’t be Detroit's strong suit. The under should be a solid bet tonight.
The Kings still has some bite, especially when those three-pointers are on point! While the defense might have room for improvement, they should still be able to keep up with Detroit to a certain degree. A seven-point spread makes this matchup intriguing, especially with Duren possibly sitting out; Sabonis could shine in the paint. Even if Duren plays, Sabonis will be a challenging matchup for Detroit, making him Sacramento’s best shot at keeping the game competitive.
Cade has continued his epic season-long run with tons of impressive scoring nights. Tonight will likely be no different; facing a weak defensive backcourt, Cade’s size and physicality will provide him loads of opportunities to find high-efficiency shots. With Cade averaging 27 points per game in March, this line is razor thin, but the over looks slightly more tempting.
We’ve seen DeRozan’s assist numbers fluctuate over the last few games. He’s all over the board most nights, getting 10 one night and then 1 the next. The over is looking slightly more tempting tonight, considering most of the Kings team is healthy. Averaging 5.9 assists in March and 6 in the three games they’ve played in April makes the over line look solid.
Sabonis remains one of the best rebounders in the league. With the line set a bit high tonight at 12.5, there is still a good chance he’ll reach that. Especially with Murray possibly sidelined tonight, he’ll have plenty of opportunities to grab boards. He averaged 16 per game in March and 13.8 per game in April, so the odds look excellent for this one.
LaVine has been on fire lately. He’s made 13 three-pointers over the last three games, leaving him at 52% from beyond the arc. This year, he’s averaged over three made three-pointers per game, shooting one of the highest percentages of his career at 43.9%. He’s been an elite shooter, with an excellent chance to get hot tonight in the waning games of the season.