Game Time: 9:00 PM ET, Sunday, January 9th, 2022 

Venue:  Moda Center (formerly Rose Garden), Portland, Oregon

Where to Watch:  NBA League Pass

DraftKings:  Spread: Kings -1.5; O/U 224.5

BetMGM:  Spread:  NL

VegasInsider:  Spread:  Kings -1.5; O/U 224.5

WynnBet: Spread: Kings -2.5; O/U 225.5

Kings: 16-25, 11th place Western Conference

Trail Blazers: 14-24, 12th place Western Conference

A heated battle between opponents in the bottom half of the Western Conference standings.  A matchup like this is all about pride.  Personal profound basketball pride.  Both squads look to the other end of the court and see a team that is easily beatable… losing a game like this is much more painful than dropping one to the Phoenix Suns or the Golden State Warriors… sure, it all counts the same in the standings but if you can’t win against this team, you probably can’t beat anybody.

The Sacramento Kings are in a very familiar place… They fired a coach early in the season.  They are being guided the rest of the way by an interim coach.  They have a young, athletic roster that can’t seem to play together let alone produce enough wins for a winning season.  In a few months they will have to make roster decisions while everyone knows they will most likely make the wrong ones.  It’s hard to put a finger on who it is that keeps this team treading the water of mediocrity. Is it an owner who knows little, but thinks he knows everything?  Is it a series of GM’s who simply aren’t good at the job?... Is it because the small market of Sacramento can not attract Free Agents and therefore any mistake in the draft causes ripples through the franchise for years?... All could be true at the same time.  The Kings are on a three-game losing streak and have only won 3 games in their last ten tries.  PG De'Aaron Fox is the best player on the roster and the one most likely to eventually demand a trade before his career goes completely overlooked.  The best part of Covid absences is it forced the Kings to start playing PF Marvin Bagley III… you know the #2 pick of the 2018 draft… the guy taken before Luka Doncic… and the verdict is:  Mr Bagley looks like an average skilled NBA player… he has good size at 6’11 and is fairly athletic for a guy his size… outside of that he has no specific skill that stands out.  At 8 pts and 7 rebs per game… he was a bad pick.  Of course maybe Luka Doncic would look like a bad pick if he was buried on the Kings roster and spent his first few years coached by Luke Walton.  The Kings shockingly have the advantage in this one because of the injury problems that are plaguing the Trail Blazers.

The Portland Trail Blazers have just 3 wins over their last ten tries.  Their most recent beating was handed out by the Cleveland Cavaliers 114-101.  The Blazers right now are a true losing team.  The only wins they have had ATS over their last ten games were those actual three SU wins.  The Blazers are always the underdog on the point spread and when they lose… they do not cover.  The ten game span delivered 5 Overs and 5 Unders.  Odd to think that in this matchup the Trail Blazers are not a good betting opportunity against the Sacramento Kings.  The problem is of course they are missing superstar PG Damian Lilliard, and all-star SG C.J. McCollum… and the rest of the roster is really just made up of deck chairs on the Titanic without that duo. C Jusuf Nurkic is overpaid and consistently undederlivers, PF Robert Covington is not the same exciting guy he was that joined the Philadelphia 76ers as an undrafted free agent years ago… he now simply looks like an undrafted free agent pressed into duty.  The one absolute bright spot is SG Norman Powell, the 2015 2nd round pick out of UCLA and NBA Champion role player with the Toronto Raptors in 2019 is fantastic… of course if CJ McCollum and Damian Lilliard came back right now… then Norman would be either buried on the bench or playing out of position.  

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Sacramento is 16-25 on the season, but 17-24 ATS.  They have logged 20 Overs, 20 Unders, and 1 Push.  They are 6-12 in road games.

Portland is 14-24, but 13-24-1 ATS.  They have notched 18 Overs, 19 Unders, and 1 Push.  They are 12-11 in home games.

The Kings are 12th in scoring with 109.5 points per game, 19th in rebounds with 44.3 per game, 22nd in AST/TO ratio with 1.6.  They are 18th in FG%, 17th in 3PT%, and 20th in FT%.  The big problem that keeps causing all those losses isn’t the offense… it is the horrid defense.  They are 28th in defense while allowing 113.9 ppg.

Our prediction for Saturday, January 9th is….  Kings 110 - Blazers 99

The Blazers are at a distinct disadvantage while missing their two best guys.  The Kings should get an easy win…. And the Kings offense should be good enough to cover any spread up to 7pts.

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The Kings are 3-1 ATS versus Portland at Portland over the last 3 seasons.

The Kings are 5-4 ATS versus Portland over the last 3 seasons.

7 of 9 games in this series has gone Over the last 3 seasons.

Kings: SG Terrance Davis II (ankle) Out ** PF Richaun Holmes (covid) Out

Blazers: SF Larry Nance Jr (knee) Quest ** PG Damian Lilliard (abs) Out ** SG CJ McCollum (lung) Out

Kings: PF Marvin Bagley III, SF Harrison Barnes, C Damian Jones, SG Tyrese Haliburton, PG De'Aaron Fox

Blazers: SF Nassir Little, PF Robert Covington, C Jusuf Nurkic, PG Anfernee Simmons, SG Norman Powell

Kings

Points: De’Aaron Fox 21.1

Assists: Tyrese Haliburton 6.8

Rebounds: Richaun Holmes 8.7

Steals: Tyrese Haliburton 1.6

Blocks: Richaun Holmes 1.0

Blazers

Points: Damian Lilliard 24

Assists: Damian Lilliard 7.3

Rebounds: Jusuf Nurkic 10.1

Steals: Robert Covington 1.3

Blocks: Robert Covington 1.2

Kings: Alvin Gentry.  Coach Gentry was elevated from lead assistant to Head Coach when the team fired Luke Walton earlier in the season.  He has loads of NBA Head Coaching experience, having HC’d five different NBA teams.  

Trail Blazers: Chauncey Billups.  Coach Billups was a great NBA player and is now a first year Head Coach.  He desperately needs a better roster… and hopefully this season’s collapse isn’t put on his shoulders as it is clearly a problem of injuries to the top players.