The last game on Wednesday’s jam-packed scoreboard is a Western Conference showdown between the Golden State Warriors and the Sacramento Kings at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento. The Warriors are playing for the second night in a row, and will be short-handed as a result. The Kings also listed some key contributors as questionable, so it will be important to monitor status updates up until the 10:00 p.m. ET tip-off on Wednesday night.
The Warriors are 5-3 after beating the Suns at home on Tuesday behind another big game from Stephen Curry. Curry is out due to illness on Wednesday, while Jimmy Butler (back), Draymond Green (rib), and Brandin Podziemski (wrist) are all questionable.
The Kings are only 2-5 on the season after losing in Denver on Monday, and they’re also dealing with missing starters, since both Zach LaVine (back) and Domantas Sabonis (ribcage) have been ruled out for this contest.
Looking at the overall odds for tonight’s matchup, the Kings enter as 2.5-point favorites and hold -135 odds on the Moneyline at DraftKings Sportsbook. The Warriors hold +114 odds of getting the outright victory, with the game total set at 223.5 points.
This article will look at a preview and prediction for the Wednesday night matchup.
Golden State Warriors at Sacramento Kings preview, prediction
The Warriors will be without Curry for the first time this season, but it’s hard to know exactly who will pick up the scoring load with so many other players questionable. Butler seems unlikely to play through his back injury after leaving early on Tuesday, but Green and Podziemski being uncertain further complicates things.
Jonathan Kuminga is the only starter not questionable, so he could have to carry the workload in a major way. He only had nine points on Tuesday, but he’s averaging 16.4 points per game this season and dropped 25 points in the Warriors’ win over the Grizzlies on October 27.
Other Golden State players who could step up amid the injury crisis include Buddy Hield, Moses Moody, Will Richard, Quinten Post, and Gary Payton II.
Moody is especially intriguing, since he went off for 24 points with five three-pointers on Tuesday, but he’s recorded very inconsistent playing time and production so far this season.
Richard has made the most of his limited opportunities while splitting time with the G League’s Santa Cruz Warriors as well. The second-round pick could be a sneaky DFS play at $3,000, and when his player props come out, he could be an interesting option for a pick or two on that market as well. His potential (and his prop lines) really depends on if Podziemski and Butler end up playing.
On the Kings side, DeMar DeRozan could be in a similar spot to Kuminga with LaVine and Sabonis out. DeRozan will have some help, though, since Malik Monk is back after a two-game absence for personal reasons and veteran guards Russell Westbrook and Dennis Schroder have been stepping up.
Westbrook had a huge game in his return to Denver, turning back the clock to score 26 points in addition to 12 rebounds and six assists. He’s averaging 13.9 points, 5.9 rebounds and 5.0 assists in his 28 minutes a game this season. The Kings also added Schroder this past offseason, and he’s averaging 14.9 points, 6.9 assists, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.6 steals in 33 minutes per contest. While Schroder, Westbrook, Monk and Keon Ellis get more work with LaVine out, more minutes will also be available up front for Drew Eubanks and the recently-signed Precious Achiuwa.
Warriors at Kings pick, best bet
With both teams short-handed, Schroder could step up. He will be going up against the Warriors’ backups, and he’ll have more work to do without LaVine. He should also be plenty motivated, facing one of his many former teams.
Schroder is averaging 25.7 PRA (points, rebounds and assists), and he had 31 and 36 PRA in his two most recent games, and he’s hit the 26-PRA threshold in three of his last five games overall. With more work available, he could be even more productive on Wednesday. While the best bet highlighted below is his standard PRA over-under, I also like playing him up the PRA ladder. Schroder 30+ PRA at +216 and 35+ PRA at +586 both represent strong value options.
