The Raptors will aim to hand Sacramento a third straight defeat. Here's the betting preview plus how to watch.
The Sacramento Kings watched their four-game winning streak disrupt. Now they enter Wednesday on a two-game slide, following their 130-117 loss to the Miami Heat nearly 24 hours ago.
The Toronto Raptors are now in town -- with NBC Sports California broadcasting the contest for the Sacramento region and NBA League Pass providing services for those interested in purchasing a package to watch the game.
Sacramento also is dealing with trade rumblings involving Malik Monk. But Domantas Sabonis is a big scratch for the game, with Sean Cunningham of Sactown 1140 AM reporting Sabonis is dealing with a knee injury.
Now here's Fernie Ruano with the betting preview:
The up and down ride that the Kings (12-32, 14th in the Western Conference) have turned the month of January into continues Wednesday night at the Golden 1 Center, where Sacramento hosts the Toronto Raptors (26-17, 4th in the Eastern Conference) for a 10:00 p.m. (ET) tipoff.
But despite a 4-2 record on their current seven-game homestand, the underdog Kings (+5.5, -102), coming off a 130-117 loss to the Miami Heat on Tuesday night and playing on the backend of a back-to-back, are +180 on the moneyline, per DraftKings Sportsbook.
Kings will play their final game of an extended home stretch before hitting the road for a six-game trip, starting Friday in Cleveland. Toronto is -218 on the moneyline.
The over/under is 224.5 points (o -116, u -107). The Kings, currently on a two-game losing streak, opened January with a five-game losing streak before winning four in a row — all at home. But Sacramento, expected to be active at or around the NBA trade deadline, Feb. 5, was done in by poor defense last night, including allowing a 45-point second quarter to the Heat, which connected on nine three-pointers to vs. the Kings.
As a result, the Kings are now only ahead of the New Orleans Pelicans (10-35), Indiana Pacers (10-34) and Washington Wizards (10-32). The Kings are also caught in no man’s land with the recent return of star big-man Domantas Sabonis, who has averaged 9 points, 8 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 19.3 minutes per game since his being retuning from a left knee meniscus tear. Sabonis, a three-time All-Star owed 42.3 million for the rest of this season, in addition to 45.4 million next season and 48.6 million in 2027-28, is likely to be shopped and draw serious interest around the league from teams looking for the best center, perhaps, available via trade.
Sacramento, just 2.5 games ahead of the Pelicans for last in the Western Conference, is 9-15 on their home floor this season and 2-5 on the backside of playing on consecutive days.
The Raptors (-5.5, -118),coming off a 145-127 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night, are 5-5 in their last 10 games and 12-9 on the road this season. The injury-riddled Raptors list RJ Barrett (ankle), Jakob Poeltlc (back) and Ja’Kobe Walker (hip) as out. Zach LaVine is averaging 19.8 points per game for the Kings, while Maxime Raynaud is averaging 6.6 rebounds per contest.
Collin Murray-Boyles (thumb) is questionable. Kings forward Keegan Murray (ankle) is out. Raptors vs. Kings betting analysis: It’s late-January already — Yeah kids, time definitely flies on our calendars — and I’m always weary of the overall motivation for NBA teams, especially one like the situation the Kings find themselves in, that have little to play for in and around the trade deadline on Feb. 5.
Are the Kings — as a whole — really going all out and trying to win basketball games?I’m not entirely convinced that they are. Therefore, taking the Kings, even at +5.5, would be, in my opinion, a risky NBA bet.
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