Sacramento Kings vs Golden State Warriors Prediction: Commanding Kings take on road-strugglers Warriors

The NBA Play-in tournament isn’t far away and this has been another fascinating Regular Season where we have seen a lot of interesting results. As we head deeper, things will be dealt in a knockout, a loss can mean the end of the season but for those who will be in the first round, there will be a cushion. In this game, two teams that may end up seeing each other in the first round, the Sacramento Kings and the Golden State Warriors are going to clash.

The Kings enter the game after losing 119:123 against the Mavs despite a 28 points outing by De’Aaron Fox. Sacramento has nabbed five wins and five losses, a rather so-so finish to the Regular Season but due to a strong performance in March, they have completed 48 wins and 32 losses, seizing the third spot in the West. This gives them the home-court advantage for at least the first round and if they end up meeting the Warriors, it is going to play a decisive role. One issue that Sacramento has is their defense, which still doesn’t look like Playoffs ready but their offense does look so. Will the Kings continue to be the surprise of the season after ending a 15+ years curse where they had not made the Playoffs?

The Warriors come into this fray after defeating the Thunder 136:125 on the heels of a 35 points outburst by sharpshooter Stephen Curry. Of course, the loss came at home and the Warriors have six wins in eight games. This season has been a tough one for the Warriors because their defense has been sub-par and their away-from-home performance has been underwhelming and they have lodged just nine wins and 30 losses in this scenario. It is thanks to their 33 wins and nine losses at home that have kept them in the hunt for a top-six spot in the West. They need Wiggins back because they will be playing away from home for most parts in the first round which doesn’t bode well for their chances. 

• Kings: OUT: Matthew Dellavedova. QUESTIONABLE: De’Aaron Fox, Keegan Murray, Kevin Huerter, Domantas Sabonis, Malik Monk, Davion Mitchell, Trey Lyles;
• Warriors: OUT: Andrew Wiggins, Andre Iguodala, Ryan Rollins.

The Kings may end up resting all their key players and the reason for that is that the Kings have nothing at stake here and they have already seized the third spot to get the home-court advantage at least for the first round. The Warriors have been playing a terrible brand of basketball on the road but this will be their best chance to win. I believe the Warriors to get a win here and predict a scoreline of 123:114 in favor of the Kings.