Sacramento Kings vs Los Angeles Clippers 12/1/21: Starting Lineups, Matchup Preview, Betting Odds, Live Stream
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Sacramento Kings vs. Los Angeles Clippers Matchup Preview (12/1/21)
The directionless Sacramento Kings will make the relatively short trip to Los Angeles to take on the Clippers in the Staples Center. Sacramento recently decided to part ways with Luke Walton and made Alvin Gentry its interim head coach, which has yielded mostly the same results. One notable difference is the Kings’ fortitude in their 3OT game against the Los Angeles Lakers on the road. That is certainly not a game that they could have won a few weeks earlier. Still, the Kings are dealing with several injuries to key players, including Moe Harkless and Harrison Barnes. Barnes will likely not play in this game, which will be a huge blow as he is one of their leading scorers. Meanwhile, Harkless is questionable, but he may not get the same minutes immediately, even if he plays. The Clippers are also very familiar with injuries. They just got Marcus Morris Sr back but will be without Nic Batum for at least a little longer. Morris rested on Monday for the second night of a back-to-back; however, he should be available for this bout. Additionally, the Clippers have been without Kawhi Leonard all season due to the knee injury in the second round of last season’s NBA playoffs. Since the Clippers are at home and aren’t dealing with significant injuries like the Kings are, I like for them to get a home win.
Sacramento Kings vs. Los Angeles Clippers Betting Odds
The Kings are dealing with several key injuries and could potentially be without Harrison Barnes and Moe Harkless for this matchup. Keep an eye on the injury report to see their status before game time, but assuming they don’t play, I like the Los Angeles Clippers. They have the second most efficient defense in the NBA. At the same time, Sacramento is in the bottom five of a few key defensive statistical categories, including opponent points per game and defensive efficiency. While part of their defensive effectiveness can be attributed to the pace at which the Kings play, you should note that they aren’t super effective offensively either, ranking only middle-of-the-road in offensive efficiency and eFG% (effective field goal percentage.) If the Clippers can continue to defend well and control the pace of this game, then I like them to get the win. I would take them at -4 or better.
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TV Schedule
Date: 12/1/21
Time: 10:30 PM ET
Arena: Staples Center – Los Angeles, CA
Channel: NBA TV
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Sacramento Kings Starting Lineup
PG: De’Aaron Fox
SG: Tyrese Haliburton
SF: Terence Davis
PF: Chimezie Metu
C: Richaun Holmes
Sacramento Kings Analysis
The Kings organization still has a lot of work to do. After firing Luke Walton, the Kings named Alvin Gentry, the interim head coach. It is still unclear whether this is a legitimate long-term fit, like Nate McMillan in Atlanta, but the amount of Sacramento players missing time does not help find the answer. Harrison Barnes sprained his foot while Moe Harkless is dealing with knee soreness. De’Aaron Fox will need to step up in the meantime. His averages are down this season, but that is largely because he has surrendered some offensive work to Tyrese Haliburton, Harrison Barnes, and Buddy Hield. The Kings are clearly not going to be a strong defensive team, so if they want to get these kinds of wins, they need to execute better offensively.
Los Angeles Clippers Starting Lineup
PG: Reggie Jackson
SG: Eric Bledsoe
SF: Paul George
PF: Marcus Morris Sr.
C: Ivica Zubac
Los Angeles Clippers Analysis
The Clippers have cooled way off after an impressive win streak at the beginning of the season. They just got trounced in back-to-back games by the Golden State Warriors and the New Orleans Pelicans, respectively. Losing to the Warriors is by no means a bad loss; however, taking a home loss against the New Orleans Pelicans would certainly be considered that. Still, there is at least a reasoning for the bad loss as Jonas Valanciunas dropped a career-high 39 points and 15 rebounds on 7-for-8 from behind the arc. Despite losing three of their past four games, the Clippers still should be favored in this game. Their defense is top-five in the NBA, with Paul George as their anchor.
Sacramento Kings vs. Los Angeles Clippers Daily Fantasy Picks
De’Aaron Fox has had some statistical regression this season, but that is only because there are more capable offensive players on the Kings than in prior seasons. Fox averages 20.7 points, 5.8 assists, and 3.5 rebounds but has not been very efficient from the field. Still, Fox exploded last game against the Los Angeles Lakers for 34 points, eight assists, and six rebounds. This should become a regular occurrence as the season continues, so I love Fox as a DFS play.
Surprisingly, Reggie Jackson has his highest offensive output since the 2015-16 season when he was on the Detroit Pistons. Despite being 31 years old, Jackson has had somewhat of a career resurgence this year in Los Angeles, largely fueled by the heroic performances in the playoffs last year when Kawhi Leonard went down with a knee injury. Jackson averages 18.4 points per game but has struggled with efficiency at times. Still, Jackson remains the second-best scoring option for the Los Angeles Clippers, so he should continue putting up close to 20 points per game. While Jackson did have zero points against the Warriors, it is doubtful that will happen again this season, and I would expect a big performance in this one against a weak Kings defense.
