Sacramento Kings vs. San Antonio Spurs 7/31/20: Starting Lineups, Matchup Preview, Betting Odds
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Sacramento Kings vs. San Antonio Spurs Preview
The NBA season resumes tonight for two of the lower-seeded teams in the Western Conference, so tonight’s game between the San Antonio Spurs and Sacramento Kings holds some importance as both teams are on the outside looking in at the chance to get one of the top nine spots before we get to play-in games.
The Kings are currently 28-36 and sit at 10th place and are just the slightest margin under the Portland Trail Blazers for the ninth seed and within the four games needed of the 8th place Memphis Grizzlies. The Spurs, meanwhile, are 12th out West with a 27-36 record but are just a half-game away from the Kings, so a win tonight could undoubtedly shake things up, especially with the New Orleans Pelicans losing last night.
Both teams have had to adjust lineups due to injuries and other factors. While this is not the start of a new season per se, it’ll seem like that as they begin play tonight with a very similar goal, unseating Memphis and getting each other out of the way in order to make that happen.
TV Schedule
Date: 7/31/20
Time: 8:00 PM ET
Arena: VISA Athletic Center, Orlando, FL
Channel: NBCSCA, FSSW-SA
Injuries
Kings: Marvin Bagley III (O), Alex Len (DTD)
Spurs: LaMarcus Aldridge (O), Trey Lyles (O), Bryn Forbes (DTD), Quinndary Weatherspoon (DTD)
Sacramento Kings Starting Lineup
PG: De’Aaron Fox
SG: Bogdan Bogdanovic
SF: Kent Bazemore
PF: Richaun Holmes
C: Nemanja Bjelica
Kings Analysis
The Sacramento Kings may be on the outside looking in, but they’ve got as good a chance as any. With several teams missing key players, the Kings boast one of the deepest teams, especially when you consider Buddy Hield and Harrison Barnes will both be coming off the bench. Veteran guard Cory Joseph is a solid backup who can spell Fox, and they can also look to Jabari Parker, and when he returns from injury, Alex Len, for additional depth.
“We’re going to go (with) whoever is playing at the highest level,” Kings coach Luke Walton said.
“We’re getting right at the right time,” Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox said. “This is probably the most guys we’ve had ready for a long time. We’re confident and we’re ready to go.”
Adding to that, confidence has to be that the Kings have split the regular-season series with the Spurs so far and have a series lead over the last two seasons. The Kings somehow have had the Spurs’ number lately, and they could continue to present some issues with a deep team against one without one of its biggest stars.
San Antonio Spurs Starting Lineup
PG: Dejounte Murray
SG: Derrick White
SF: Lonnie Walker IV
PF: DeMar DeRozan
C: Jakob Poeltl
Spurs Analysis
The San Antonio Spurs’ streak of playoff seasons is probably in danger of ending at 22, especially after the team lost LaMarcus Aldridge and Trey Lyles for the remainder of the season. While that has presented a challenge, it’s also given the team’s youngsters some time to shine.
Dejounte Murray and Derrick White have been starting in the backcourt, pairing for an exciting young tandem which can both distributed defend well and attack the basket. Murray and White are very likely the team’s top two defenders, so they’ll look to force turnovers and turn them into transition fast breaks.
Another player that has earned a new role with the Spurs lineup shuffling has been Lonnie Walker IV. Walker seemed to be in Spurs coach Gregg Popovich’s doghouse at times this season and the silver & black faithful really wanted to see him get more minutes in his second season. He’s now starting at small forward, with DeMar DeRozan playing small-ball power forward. That group of four can really get up and down the court together and push the pace with Jakob Poeltl not far behind.
Despite whatever the odds, whatever the percentages may be, we can’t feed into that. We just have to go out there and compete,” DeRozan told the San Antonio Express-News. “For us, it’s exciting to be in this position to go out there and compete and give ourselves a second chance throughout this chaos that’s been going on and see what we can do.”
The Spurs will certainly have their work cut out for them, but they will look to Rudy Gay and Patty Mills off the bench to provide not only some scoring but also some veteran leadership. Rookie Keldon Johnson has also been playing well with more minutes in the rotation.
Kings vs Spurs Fantasy Basketball Angle
I would say to look to DeRozan as he’s usually always capable of 20+ points along with assists and rebounds, but he has struggled in the early scrimmages. He has also been trying to get the younger players involved, but his shot has not looked good so far. Derrick White seems like the safe bet for San Antonio. He had one game where he went on a tear, and he’s gone rack up some defensive points for you as well. Fox is the pick for the Kings. He’s slated for 40.6 fantasy points on FanDuel and at the cost of just $7.5k.
Kings vs Spurs Betting Odds
Kings Odds: -155
Spurs Odds: +135
Over/Under: 221.0
The Kings are 2.5 point favorites to pick up the win and keep the Spurs back in the Western Conference standings. The Kings are 35-13-16 against the spread and the Spurs are 24-18-21.
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