NBA picks today: Warriors-Kings prediction, odds, over/under, spread, injury report

As the NBA regular season comes to a close, there is still so much left to be decided-Especially out west. With two games left, the Sacramento Kings (48-32) are fresh off clinching their first Pacific Division title since 2003, and have secured the Western conference 3-seed while still holding an outside shot at surpassing Memphis for the 2-seed.

On Friday, Sac will face the reigning world champion Golden State Warriors (42-38), who are stuck in the thickest part of the Western conference standings with the Clippers, Lakers and Pelicans. Tip-off for Warriors-Kings is set for 10 p.m. ET from Sacramento's Golden 1 Center; Can they “light the beam” one last time this regular season?

Coming into Friday night's contest, the visiting Warriors will still be without F Andrew Wiggins, who will miss the remaining two regular season games as he readies his return from a family related absence.

The Kings, on the other hand, are in an delicate spot; They should know by game time whether or not they still have a chance at moving up to the 2-seed (dependent on outcome of Memphis-Milwaukee at 8 p.m. ET), but Sacramento still shows many on their roster with uncertain statuses for Friday. Those players are: G Kevin Huerter (knee, questionable), F Domantas Sabonis (ankle, doubtful), G Malik Monk (leg, doubtful), G Davion Mitchell (knee, doubtful) and F Trey Lyles (shoulder, doubtful).

At DraftKings Sportsbook, the Warriors are 9.5-point favorites in Sacramento. On the moneyline, Golden State is priced at -425, while the Kings are +340 to pull off the upset in their own arena. The point total is set at 235.

Warriors vs. Kings, 10 p.m. ET

Pick ATS: Kings +9.5

Friday night's battle for Northern California should be an interesting clash, especially considering this Warriors-Kings matchup may very well be one we see again in the opening round of the playoffs. For reference, the two Pacific Division rivals have played three times head-to-head this season, with the home team winning every time (2-1 Warriors, so far). However, those three games were early on in the year, played within the first 15 contents.

For Golden State, the urgency is much higher considering the Dubs are in jeopardy of still falling into a play-in scenario. Still, this team has had hellacious play on the road, where they are an abysmal 9-30 (10-29 ATS). Also, if the Grizzlies (-8) wind up losing to the Bucks, Sac will have more motivation to play deeper into their roster (since that opens a chance for the Kings to move up). Either way, Sactown has been a solid team a year long. They may only be 18-22 ATS at home this season, but getting nearly 10 points on the spread, the Kings feel like the safer side-Especially with the Warriors' road performances.

Over/Under: Over 235

One thing this Golden State team still does is score a ton of points, which is natural when you consider their arsenal of shooters. On the contrary, they also allow for high volume scoring from their opponents, and exponentially so when traveling-The Warriors are surrendering 123.7 on the road in 2022-23. Simply, I think both sides will look to pour on the point tonight, especially when you consider all the potential playoff scenarios that can be configured over these next couple games. Hey, smoke 'em if you got 'em …

  
Read Full Article