Does Sacramento earn the primetime spotlight on this Saturday evening? Here's the preview including how to watch.
The Sacramento Kings will face someone enduring a back-to-back scheduling sequence.
Does that make the Kings a slight underdog or the favorite inside the Intuit Dome?
Yes, the Los Angeles Clippers are battling fatigue after working for their Friday win over the Chicago Bulls. And yes, the Clips are the ones operating under a limited time period of rest compared to the Kings. Sacramento is fresh off a bye day on Friday.
But the odds swing greatly toward the Clippers here.
Los Angeles enters as the overwhelming 13.5-point favorite per FanDuel Sportsbook. DraftKings handed the Kings a similar underdog line.
There's not much going for Sacramento at this stage. The team already solidified that they'll finish 20 games or more below the .500 mark. Even if the Kings go on a 15-game winning streak to close the season, it still pits them at 31-51 by season's end.
Sacramento is also playing on a huge college basketball weekend -- one that involves keeping a close eye on their NBA Draft hopes. Duke and Cameron Boozer are chasing an Atlantic Coast Conference title in the evening against Virginia. Houston and Kingston Flemings battle the No. 1 seed in the Big 12 Arizona in an afternoon showdown.
And both continue to rise up the draft boards, which leaves some fans to believe one or the other could fall to them instead of AJ Dybantsa of BYU. Dybantsa and the Cougars currently await their March Madness fate ahead of Selection Sunday.
But the Kings are awaiting a different type of fate -- where they'll land in the NBA Draft Lottery. Sacramento won't know officially until May 10 when the selections are made for each team eligible for the lottery picks. Sacramento could still lose the No. 1 pick to the Indiana Pacers, Brooklyn Nets or even a team that narrowly misses the playoffs.
Sacramento does have DeMar DeRozan going greatly for them. And the Compton native will be playing in front of his hometown once again. DeRozan moved to 18th on the league's all-time scoring list.
Nique Clifford also has flashed his potential and recently fired up some social media reactions with a massive poster dunk against the Indiana Pacers from Thursday.
But at this rate, those are two of the very limited positives Sacramento has had this season. Hence why this Saturday primetime contest looks one-sided.
ESPN2 will be airing the action. But NBC Sports California also will have coverage.
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