Golden State Warriors (44-38) vs. Sacramento Kings (48-34)
April 15, 2023 8:30 pm EDT
The Line: Sacramento Kings -1; Over/Under: +238.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Sacramento Kings play host to the Golden State Warriors in Game 1 at the Golden 1 Center on Saturday night.
The Golden State Warriors have endured a real up and down season, but they are coming into the playoffs with plenty of momentum as they won eight of their last 10 games of the regular season to earn the sixth seed in the Western Conference standings. Stephen Curry missed 26 games but still led the way with averages of 29.4 points, 6.1 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game, Klay Thompson averaged 21.9 points while Jordan Poole provided the spark off the bench with averages of 20.4 points and 4.5 assists per game. As a team, the Warriors scored an average of 118.9 per game while shooting 47.9 percent from the field and 38.5 percent from the 3-point line.
Meanwhile, the Sacramento Kings were one of the surprise stories of the regular season as they finished with an impressive 48-34 season record to make the playoffs for the first time since 2006. De’Aaron Fox led steered the offense with averages of 25.0 points, 4.2 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game, Domantas Sabonis filled the stat sheet with averages of 19.1 points, 12.3 rebounds and 7.3 assists per game while Kevin Huerter averaged 15.2 points and 2.9 assists per game. As a team, the Kings scored an average of 120.7 points per game while shooting 49.4 percent from the field and 36.9 percent from the 3-point line.
Looking at the betting trends, the Warriors are 16-34-1 ATS in their last 51 road games and 32-14 ATS in their last 46 Conference Quarterfinals games. The Kings are 0-4 ATS in their last four home games, 1-6 ATS in their last seven games playing on three or more days’ rest and 8-3 ATS in their last 11 games following a loss.
Head to head, the under is 6-2-1 in the last nine meetings overall and the Warriors are 5-13 ATS in the last 18 meetings overall.
The Warriors are again missing Andre Iguodala who is far from returning, while the Kings should be at full health for this series. The Warriors have the edge in playoff and championship experience which is why this line is basically a coin flip, but they’ve been poor on the road all season and they are just 5-13 ATS in the last 18 meetings overall, so I’m leaning towards the Kings to escape with the narrow win in front of a packed house.
