The Sacramento Kings (27-52) look to end a five-game road losing streak in a matchup against the Denver Nuggets (29-50) at the Pepsi Center. The game starts at 5:00 pm ET on Sunday, Apr. 12 and will air on CSN-CA and Altitude.
The Nuggets lost a tough one against the Mavericks 144-143 on Friday. Danilo Gallinari was the game’s high scorer, contributing 47. The Kings, meanwhile, are coming off a 116-103 loss at the hands of the Thunder on Friday. Ray McCallum played well for Sacramento, accumulating 17 points, six rebounds, and four assists.
Gallinari has been playing at a high level as of late for the Nuggets, averaging 20.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 0.8 steals, 0.6 blocks, and 3.4 three-pointers over the last five games.
The physical Kings offense seems poised to make an impact from the foul line. They rank first in the NBA at getting to the stripe (free throw attempt rate of 35.7), while Denver is among the league’s most foul-prone squads (giving up a 29th-ranked free throw attempt rate of 31.4).
The Kings have won two out of three against the Nuggets this season, but dropped their most recent game, 118-108. DeMarcus Cousins played a big role with 32 points and 13 rebounds.
The odds are even for this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is presently unavailable. The Nuggets enter the game with records of 29-50 Straight Up (SU) and 33-43-3 Against The Spread (ATS). They have gone 18-31 SU and 20-27-2 ATS against teams from the Western Conference.
Across the court, the Kings head into the game with records of 31-45-3 ATS and 27-52 SU. In Western Conference games, Sacramento has gone 16-33 SU and 22-25-2 ATS. The Kings are getting to the foul line at a high rate, with an NBA-best 1,749 free throws made (22.1 per game). Sacramento may be taking trips to the free throw line early and often with the Nuggets averaging a league-high 22.8 fouls per game.
Denver beat Sacramento in their most recent meeting this season, bringing its SU record to 6-4 over the Kings in the last 10 games. The Nuggets also hold the advantage ATS with a record of 6-4. When it comes to field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers, Denver held the edge in all three of these categories twice in the last 10 meetings. Sacramento never did so in those games.
Predictions: SU Winner – DEN, ATS Winner – DEN
Notes
Denver is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games.
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Denver’s last 7 games.
Denver is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games.
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Denver’s last 7 games at home.
Denver is 6-14 SU in its last 20 games at home.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Denver’s last 5 games when playing Sacramento.
Denver is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing Sacramento.
Denver is 11-4 SU in its last 15 games when playing Sacramento.
Denver is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against Sacramento.
The total has gone UNDER in 13 of Denver’s last 19 games when playing at home against Sacramento.
Denver is 9-2 SU in its last 11 games when playing at home against Sacramento.
Denver scores an average of 100.9 points per game (ranked 14th). Sacramento ranks 29th in points allowed per game with 105.1.
Sacramento ranks 11th in points allowed per road game (107.6 PPG), while Denver ranks seventh in points per home game with 103.7.
When allowing fewer than 100 points, the Nuggets are 16-10 on the season. When the Kings score fewer than 100, they are an abysmal 5-29.
At 13-40, the Denver Nuggets have a subpar record when their opponents score at least 100 points. The Sacramento Kings are 22-23 when they put up triple digits.
The Kings have a defensive rating of 106.1 (ranked 27th). The Nuggets rank 22nd for their offensive rating of 101.0.
Denver averages 99.9 possessions per game, scoring 1.010 points on each possession. While Sacramento averages fewer possessions per game with 99.1, the team scores more points per possession with 1.019.
Denver has an average effective field goal percentage of 47.7%. Sacramento is an abysmal 8-47 when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
Denver makes an average of 21.6 assists per game (ranked 15th), while Sacramento makes 20.1 assists per game (ranked 28th).
The Denver Nuggets average 4.6 blocks per game for a rank of 17th. The Sacramento Kings rank lower (27th), earning 4.0 blocks each game.
The Denver Nuggets are among the best offensive rebounding teams in the league (ranked third). The Sacramento Kings are one of the top defensive rebounding teams (ranked ninth).
On average, Denver makes 7.7 steals per game. Sacramento is a losing 17-42 when it gives up at least 7 steals.
