Preview and Prediction: San Antonio Spurs at Sacramento Kings
DeMar DeRozan will need to come up big against the Kings (Photo via Twitter)
The San Antonio Spurs (22-29) have their best chance to get a win on the Rodeo Road Trip tonight when they play the Sacramento Kings (20-31). The Spurs have lost their first three games of the trip and now sit three and a half games out of the playoffs in the Western Conference.
The Kings are currently 5.5 games back, so their hopes of making the playoffs aren’t dead yet. If they can beat the Spurs tonight, Sacramento will only be one game behind San Antonio.
Kings Coming Off Big Win
The Kings will be playing the second night of a back-to-back tonight after an impressive victory over the Miami Heat last night. In their 105-97 win, Bogdan Bogdanovic and Buddy Hield led the way. Bogdanovic had 23 points and hit six three-pointers, while Hield had 21 points, seven rebounds, five assists and hit five three-pointers.
Overall, the Kings have won three of their last four games and five of their last seven. In that stretch, they also have an impersive win in Los Angeles over the Clippers.
Spurs the Favorites to Win Tonight
The Spurs are 8-17 on the road. The Kings are 10-15 at home. The Kings have played well lately, while the Spurs have not. All that taken into considerations, oddsmakers in Vegas have the Spurs are the favorites to win Saturday night’s affair.
The Spurs are 2.5-point favorites, with a predicted final score of 112-110. San Antonio being favorites is mostly due to the fact that the Kings are playing in a back-to-back. The Spurs will have to come out aggressive and desperate in order to take advantage.
Spurs at Kings – Key Matchup
The Spurs need DeMar DeRozan to have a dominant performance tonight. The Kings don’t have a notable perimeter defender that will give DeRozan trouble. For the Spurs to win, they’ll need the 30-year-old to not only score a lot of points, but also set the table consistently for his teammates.
Prediction: Spurs at Kings
If the Spurs lose tonight, the postseason dreams will be on life support. I expect them to realize that and come out with a passion we haven’t witnessed much this season.
San Antonio Spurs – 120
Sacramento Kings – 112