Warriors vs Kings Line Movements: Sacramento as Shaky Chalk

Betting Lines Could Shift For Warriors-Kings

The Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors rematch from their epic seven-game series. Even with Golden State edging Sacramento there, the Kings open this NBA matchup as the slight betting favorites. Initially at -1.5 points, the Kings are now at -2.5. Money is coming in on Sacramento via these Warriors vs Kings line movements. But don’t expect it to be too one-sided as Golden State will have its fair share of backers.

Warriors Must Get Past Road Demons

The Warriors are the underdogs, and they might stay as one, given their poor track record as a visitor. Since 2021-22, the season they won the NBA title, Golden State has a 36.5% cover rate (35-61-2) as a visitor. That is the worst in the NBA. And last season, the Warriors were only 12-35 (25.5%) on the road. Only the tanking trio of Houston, Detroit, and San Antonio had worse winning percentages.

“One, acknowledging what happened,” Curry told NBC Sports Bay Area’s Zena Keita on how Golden State plans to address its atrocious road record last season. “And what went wrong in terms of, whether it was moments during the game, whether it was a bad approach, collectively in terms of how we presented ourselves on the road early in the season. Whatever it was, that we talk about it, we acknowledge and embrace it, but I think we’re a little bit more mature as a team overall.”

The elephant in the room was the disconnect between the Warriors’ younger generation of players and the “old” championship core. It may be why Golden State traded Jordan Poole for Chris Paul. The 12-time All-Star is 38 but is a floor general and may get the best out of the team’s young players.

Paul did not shoot well in his debut with Golden State against Phoenix (4-of-15). But he had nine assists, two steals, and was +5. If he can bridge the gap between the team’s two sides, the Warriors may just topple the NBA odds.

Whatever the case, look for money to come in on Golden State per the Warriors vs Kings line movements. This team is 6-4 in its last 10 games against Sacramento after all.

Kings To Remain the “Greatest Show on Court v2.0”

Most of the current Kings players were in grade school or younger when the Kings’ original “Greatest Show on Court” was at its peak in the early 2000s. Now, the current team has sort of revived it under head coach Mike Brown’s tutelage. The Kings led the NBA in scoring last NBA season and were among the NBA 3 point leaders (fifth in makes).

The team picked up where it left off by dropping 130 points on Utah with five players scoring in double figures. Sacramento looks to still do that against Golden State, a team that beat them at their own game in the NBA playoffs. The Warriors had better defense and neutralized Sacramento well enough to win the series.

Along with overblown totals, 240.5 in this game, they went under or pushed in seven of their last 10 games (3-6-1). Golden State’s defense tends to be awful on the road. Its 118.3 rating last season was the third-worst and it’s why 65.2% of its road games went over the total (30-16-1).

On top of that, the Kings had an offensive rating of 121.6 with an effective field goal percentage of 58.6 at home. Both led the league. And even with exorbitant totals, the Kings’ home games went over 61.4% of the time (27-17-1).

That’s why the books set the line at that high so it’d be interesting if the Warriors vs Kings line movements lean towards the under.

For NBA news, analysis and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.

Want more articles like this? Check these out:

• Celtics vs Heat Prediction: Boston Shaping Up as Co-Finals Favorite
• 76ers vs Bucks Betting Betting Odds: It’s Dame Time for Favored Milwaukee
• Mavericks vs Spurs Betting Preview: Wembanyama Makes Highly Anticipated NBA Debut
• Celtics vs Knicks Odds Preview: New-Look Celtics Favored in MSG
• Lakers vs Nuggets Betting Preview: Champs Ready To Beat L.A. Again