basketball | Friday, December 16, 2022 1:47 PM

Detroit Pistons vs Sacramento Kings Best Bet: Rolling Fox and Sabonis in Motor Cit

Sam Cox

Detroit Pistons vs Sacramento Kings Best Bet: Friday, December 16th

The 15-12 Sacramento Kings are five-point favourites over the 8-22 Detroit Pistons for their meeting at Little Caesars Arena on Friday night. This is the second matchup between the teams in 2022-23 after Sacramento ran out 137-129 winners in an entertaining game in north California on November 20th.

Sacramento is without Alex Len for this one, and Kevin Huerter is questionable with an ankle issue. Huerter sat out the Kings’ one-point win over the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night.
Cade Cunningham is ruled out for the season after undergoing surgery on his shin, leaving greater opportunity for Killian Hayes and Jaden Ivey in the backcourt. Forward Isaiah Livers is unavailable too due to a shoulder problem.

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Detroit Pistons vs Sacramento Kings Preview
Detroit Pistons vs Sacramento Kings Best Bet

Detroit Pistons vs Sacramento Kings Preview

Sat, Dec 17. 00:10 (UK time)

The Kings are 9-6 against the spread on the road this season, and have covered in seven of their 10 games overall as favourites. Detroit is 14-12-3 ATS as an underdog, but just 6-6-1 at home. Sacramento has an impressive 8-3 record straight up against teams under .500.

Of late, there isn’t a great deal separating these teams statistically, with Detroit 23rd in net rating over the last 10 and Sacramento around league average. That is just a small sample, however. The Kings are ninth on the season, and Detroit is 28th with the second-worst defence.

The defence is the greater concern for the Pistons here. Even without Huerter’s outside shooting, Sacramento is a potent offensive team. De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis are both set for All-Star consideration, and they are ably supported by Keegan Murray, Harrison Barnes, Malik Monk and others.

The playmaking of Fox and Sabonis generates good looks for their teammates. The Kings are top six in corner three rate, and Fox’s ability to attack the paint creates decent looks inside. They are third in efficiency at the rim and convert the highest percentage of short mid-range shots in the Association.

At the other end of the floor, the Kings aren’t blessed with great personnel, but they have a workable scheme. Crucially, they do a good job at stopping opponent threes. Protecting the rim is their weakness, but Detroit is not a team set up to exploit that.

Detroit Pistons vs Sacramento Kings Best Bet

Fouling too much is one area which could lead the Kings to a slip up here. Detroit is fifth in free throw rate, and the Kings are well below average when it comes to free throws per field goal.

Ultimately, though, there is a large gap between the talent on these two teams, even with Hayes enjoying something of a breakout lately and Bojan Bogdanovic draining shots.

It is the end of a lengthy roadtrip for the Kings. While that would often mean it’s time to look out for an upset, the Kings have repeatedly proven they can get the job done against inferior opposition.