The New York Knicks are on the west coast. They will be up against the Sacramento Kings on Saturday, March 16th, 2024 (10:10 PM ET/7:10 PM PT) in the late game for the evening in the association. Both teams are jostling for position in their respective conferences as the final weeks of the regular season unfold. For the game at hand, the Kings are favored at -3.0 (bet365) as they prepare to host the Knicks. Sacramento brings a 19-12 home record into the contest while the Knicks bring a 17-14 away record. My Knicks vs Kings prediction is that the latter team, Sacramento, will win this game.
NBA Game Preview at a Glance
Away: New York Knicks
Home: Sacramento Kings
Game time: Saturday, March 16th, 2024 @ 10:10 PM ET
Knicks vs Kings odds (home team’s spread): -3.0 (bet365)
New York vs Sacramento Prediction: Latest NBA Headlines
The Knicks last played on Thursday in a game in Portland. They beat the Trail Blazers comfortably 105-93. Jalen Brunson had 45 points in the contest. Meanwhile, Josh Hart had 15 rebounds as New York enjoyed a comfortable victory. The Knicks have been an up-and-down team in the post-All-Star game segment of their season. They have gone 6-5 since play resumed. They are 39-27 overall this season but they are a team that’s off-peak in terms of their playing level.
New York Knicks injuries: recent news
As of the early-morning updates, New York’s depth chart is pretty clear. OG Anunoby is questionable for Saturday’s game. The team’s starting small forward is managing a right elbow injury, as per Stefan Bondy of the New York Times. That could bring Bojan Bogdanovic into bigger minutes for the game.
Meanwhile, Julius Randle remains out, as he has been since late January. New York fans are awaiting an injury update with him as his health does have some swing potential as to whether or not New York can be considered a core contender in the Eastern Conference. Currently, New York is the No. 4 seed but the standings are tight, with little space between the No. 4 and the No. 8 seeds.
Double-check for playing status updates with New York (06:37 ET time of writing): Team’s Depth Chart
Sacramento is 38-27 on the season. They enter the day of action as the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference. With 17 games to go, the Kings have a big range for outcomes in the standings. They could reasonably hope for the No. 4 seed but play-in tournament seeds are also in play for this middle-power in the conference.
Sacramento last played on Tuesday and Wednesday. They did well to survive a back-to-back pair of games against Milwaukee and the LA Lakers. Hosting the two games, Sacramento went +48 on net points. They enter play on Saturday after two full days of rest. They have been a solid enough team since the end of the All-Star break, going 7-4 in their last 11 games.
Sacramento Kings: Recent Form Alert
Formerly: 31 – 23 heading out of the All-Star break
Currently: 38 – 27 (overall)
Recent form: 7 – 4 heading out of the All-Star break
Recent winning rate: .636
Sacramento Kings injuries: recent news
The team’s depth chart isn’t bad. The only starter with an injury noted in the team’s depth chart with ESPN is Kevin Huerter. He is questionable for the game versus the Knicks with a leg injury, according to Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. For support players, Trey Lyles remains out with a re-evaluation in two weeks due to an MCL sprain (Frankie Cartoscelli of KHTK Sactown Sports 1140 reported). Most teams in the NBA are in worse shape than Sacramento right now.
Double-check status updates Sacramento (06:37 ET time of writing):: Team’s Depth Chart
Knicks vs Kings Prediction: Betting Tips
I think you definitely have to bet against the Knicks in this game with Anunoby questionable. If he is upgraded, then you could back off. However, since joining the Knicks, he has appeared in 16 games. New York is 14-2 in those sixteen games.
For the team’s struggles, a lot of them have happened at times when Anunoby has missed action. On that matter, he has missed a lot of games since coming from Toronto to New York, so my thinking is that “questionable” is closer to “doubtful” than it is to probable. However, he’s a player that you want to check on immediately before betting this game’s moneyline. So long as he is questionable or worse, I am with Sacramento at -155 (bet365).
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