Golden State Warriors vs Sacramento Kings Betting Preview: Game 2
Warriors Look to Level Series
Can Kings Defend Home Court?
The Sacramento Kings will look to take a 2-0 series lead when they host the Golden State Warriors for Game 2 of their first-round series. Here’s a look at our Golden State Warriors vs Sacramento Kings Betting Preview to see where we can find some value for bettors.
The Kings were able to show off their league-best offense on a historic night at Golden 1 Center as De’Aaron Fox and Malik Monk combined for 70 points against the defending champs. Fox, who remains the NBA player stats leader in clutch scoring, once again delivered in the final 5 minutes as he had one of the most impressive Playoff debuts in NBA history.
The Warriors were able to get their offense going against arguably the worst defense in the playoffs, but they couldn’t execute down the stretch as the Kings were able to ride their momentum to a huge Game 1 win. The return of Andrew Wiggins was a huge boost, but his rust was evident as he came up short with the opportunity to take the lead in the final minute on a wide open three-pointer.
Despite closing as favorites and securing the win the Kings have opened as +1.0 point underdogs for Game 2, with the Warriors currently -120 on the road.
Best Form of Defense is Offense?
The Kings defense can’t hold up against many teams let alone one run by Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors and so their best form of prevention is to push their offense.
While the NBA Playoffs are synonymous with slow, half-court basketball the Kings found a way to bring their uptempo style into Game 1 and the results were evident down the stretch.
The Kings led the league in NBA team ranking in pace of play, offensive efficiency and drives per game, which is what they’ll again need to do at a high level to ensure they defend home court. Playing downhill is fundamental to their offensive success, but the pressure it puts on the Warriors starters makes it difficult for Golden State to execute their high motion offense in response.
The volatility of an up-and-down game suits Sacramento just fine and continuing to push the ball up the court off makes or misses will be the message from coach Mike Brown who understands that not allowing his former team to control the tempo is paramount to the success of his current squad.
Creating second chance opportunities is also the great equalizer in any series and the fact the Kings had a 17-9 advantage in offensive rebounds is a big part of why they were able to sneak away with a win in Game 1. So how do Golden State wrestle back control of the series?
Warriors Need to Adjust their Defense
Golden State tried various attempts to trap and blitz De’Aaron Fox as the primary ball handler but his speed and aggressiveness simply resulted in mismatches.
Fox blew by any attempt at a double team in the second half and his ability to then create 3 v 2 scenarios was a big reason why Sacramento was able to crash the glass so successfully. Steve Kerr is as good as anyone at making the right game-to-game adjustments, but figuring out the best way to slow down Sacramento’s offense is what will swing momentum in their favor.
Their attempts at a Box-and-1 zone to play ball benial on Fox were a success in the halfcourt but that involves their transition defense being elite and stopping the fastbreak opportunity. The Warriors have been one of the worst teams when it comes to turnover percentage all season and that has remained their Achilles heel for some time now.
Live ball turnovers against the Kings are a death sentence and some of their defensive issues can be nullified by doing a better job of executing their sets and not being careless with the basketball.
Golden State is a top-5 transition defense on the season but they are also a bottom-10 team in terms of frequency. Avoiding a back-and-forth game is key and if they maximize the number of possessions that are played in the halfcourt they can do a better job of nullifying Fox’s strengths and forcing the Kings to play off secondary playmakers.
Despite the potential for the Warriors to find avenues to slow things down we can’t envision a way the pace of this game drops off in a way that a regular playoff game would. This total is set at 239.5 points after closing at 226.5 points in Game 1.
The adjustment is notable but also not enough given how Sacramento is likely going to force Golden State to have to keep up with them. We like this one to again sail Over the full game total and think there’s a good bit of value on a Kings Team Total Over to match.
That’s all for our Golden State Warriors vs Sacramento Kings Betting Preview. Be sure to check out all our NBA Playoff previews and analysis.
Follow us on Twitter
Can’t get enough? Here’s more!
- Timberwolves vs Thunder Odds: Minnesota Look to Respond at Home
- LA Clippers vs Phoenix Suns Odds: KD Ready to Lead the Way
- Knicks vs Cavaliers Odds Preview: Is New York Being Overlooked?
- 76ers vs Nets Odds: Philadelphia Expected to Roll in Opening Round
- Golden State Warriors vs Sacramento Kings Odds: Defending Champs Open as Favorites
