Sacramento Kings vs Denver Nuggets Prediction: The Nuggets' defense is improving

NBA Regular Season is a minefield. Even though the Playoffs are said to be the “real deal”, I disagree with that because a team’s Regular Season record determines the much-needed home-court advantage, and seedings for the Playoffs and when you drop multiple games in the Regular Season, you can even fall from the top ranking in a few days. In this NBA Regular Season match-up, the Sacramento Kings vs Denver Nuggets.

The Kings come into the game after losing 106:113 to the Nuggets despite a 26 points performance by De’Aaronx Fox. The Kings have lost two in a row at home and these are the type of losses that sting the most. One was against the Wizards, where the team took the squad lightly but the Nuggets’ one is going to sting the most. The Kings had a golden chance of getting six games above the 50% win mark but a record of 17 wins and 15 losses still inspires hope. In the last game, the Kings were playing without Domantas Sabonis, who is their leading rebounder.

Sacramento doesn’t have the depth to sustain its attack in the frontline. Sabonis provides offense mostly in the range of 18 and above but he can have nights where he is focused more on rebounding and playmaking, that is when he is also at his best during many junctures. The Kings will be ruing the loss against Denver as they had built a nine-point lead in the first half but played some awful basketball in the late-game situations. The Kings has a long way to go as a closing team, and they need to work on that.

As stated above, the Nuggets are entering the game after beating the Kings 113:106 in another game where their defense got key stops and Michael Porter Jr. had a marvelous night with 30 points. Indeed, the return of Michael Porter Jr. and Jamal Murray has bolstered both ends of the floor as a Forward and Guard respectively. The Nuggets have won five games in a row. Their campaign is heading in the right direction and they have become a powerhouse on both ends.

The Nuggets have won 22 and have lost 11 games. Nikola Jokic has been performing like an MVP and it looks highly possible with the way he and his team are playing. Denver has been doing a great job as a scoring unit, shooting the highest percentage but also allowing a high percentage, but their defense is improving at a daily rate. This change has been welcoming and the inclusion of Bruce Brown and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has strengthened the defensive system.

• Kings: Game-Time Decision: Domantas Sabonis;
• Nuggets: OUT: Jeff Green, Collin Gillespie. Game-Time Decisions: Bruce Brown, Aaron Gordon.

• Expected Leading Scorers: Nikola Jokic(31-36 Points), De’Aaron Fox(24-29 Points);
• Expected Leading Rebounders: Nikola Jokic(12-16 Rebounds), Domantas Sabonis(11-15 Rebounds)-QUES;
• Expected Leading Playmakers: Nikola Jokic(9-11 Assists), Domantas Sabonis(9-11 Assists).

The Kings had a big chance in the last game last night and playing a back-to-back means they need their A game against a team that has figured out their schemes. The Nuggets are going to be in great shape with wins against teams with winning record and now they have started banking on home scenarios. With the Nuggets winning eight of the nine games and the Kings will be looking at a tough game ahead. Still, at home, I expect more fight and Sabonis is a big component in that setup so my expectations can be falling flat. However, if he plays, Sabonis will be giving a lot of fuel. I expect a close game but give the Nuggets a slight advantage and the scoreline to be more bloated than the last game.