Free Daily NCAAF Lock Pick, Tuesday October 24th: Liberty vs Western Kentucky 7:30pmET
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The NBA is back this week and the Sacramento Kings meet the Utah Jazz in a Western Conference battle on Wednesday night. The Kings went 48-34 last season and 45-36-1 ATS, on their way to earning the 3-seed before losing to the Warriors in the first round of the playoffs. Utah finished 37-45 and 47-33-2 ATS the spread last season, but missed the playoffs as the 12th seed in the West. Sacramento took three out of their four regular season matchups last year. The Kings are currently listed as 1-point road favorites. Tipoff is scheduled for 9:00 EST from the Delta Center in Salt Lake City.
Sacramento guard De'Aaron Fox was an All-Star last season, and made Third Team All-NBA. The 25 year-old point guard hopes to continue to grow his game and lead his team out of the first round of the playoffs. Fox averaged 25.0 points per game last season to go with 6.1 APG and 4.2 RPG. The Kings will ask even more of Fox and center Domantas Sabonis this year as the team was not active in the offseason trade market.
Sabonis was also an All-Star and a Third Team All-NBA performer last season. The 6'10 center led the league in rebounding with 12.3 per game, and also added 19.1 PPG. The one-two punch of Fox and Sabonis has been efficient statistically, but postseason success will be expected if both stars can stay healthy. The formula for Sacramento is to surround their two stars with shooters to create spacing. Keegan Murray and Kevin Huerter each shot over 40% from three last season. Murray is a 6'8 forward who made First Team All-Rookie with 12.2 PPG, and Huerter added 15.2 PPG from the perimeter. Harrison Barnes is back for his 6th year with the Kings after starting all 82 games last season. Barnes is a solid role player who averaged 15.0 PPG last season. Malik Monk will be a spark off the bench, and JaVale McGee adds size in the frontcourt rotation.
Sacamento's tempo ranked 12th in the NBA according to ESPN's Hollinger team stats. They also had the most efficient offense in the league according to advanced metrics. The Kings added JaVale McGee, Chris Duarte from Indiana and drafted Colby Jones out of Xavier.
Injury Report:
Day-to-Day: Chris Duarte, Trey Lyles
Free Daily NCAAF Lock Pick, Tuesday October 24th: Liberty vs Western Kentucky 7:30pmET CLICK TO SEE PICK NOW