The Golden State Warriors (44-38, 33-8 home) can eliminate the Sacramento Kings (48-34, 25-16 away) from the playoffs with a win in Game 6 of the Western Conference First Round. Sacramento won the first two matchups, but it has been all Golden State since to jump out to a 3-2 series advantage.
Friday’s tipoff is at 8 p.m. EST inside the Chase Center in San Francisco, California. Golden State is a 7.5-point favorite and the over/under total is 234.5 points.
What to Know – Sacramento Kings
The Kings jumped out to a 2-0 series lead before Warriors rallied to win three in a row and take control of the series. Sacramento, the three-seed in the West coming into the playoffs, needs a victory to force a Game 7.
Offensively, the Kings led the NBA scoring 120.7 points per game backed by 49.4% shooting from the field and 36.9% shooting from the 3-point line. Sacramento’s defense ranked 25th in the league, surrendering 118.1 ppg, 49.2% shooting from the field, and 37.3% from deep.
De’Aaron Fox has been unstoppable through the first five games of the postseason, averaging 30.0 ppg while hitting 43% of his shots from the field. Malik Monk (18.2 ppg) and Domantas Sabonis (17.2 ppg) add a pair of additional scoring options for the Kings.
Sacramento is 48-39 against the spread this year and 28-15 ATS on the road. The Kings own a 6-3 record ATS over their last nine matchups against the Warriors.
What to Know – Golden State Warriors
With a victory Golden State can advance to the Conference Semifinals where they’ll play the winner of the Memphis Grizzlies or Los Angeles Lakers series. The defending NBA champions would become just the second higher seed of the playoffs to win the first round of the postseason.
The Warriors were second behind the Kings on offense during the regular season averaging 118.9 ppg thanks to 47.9% shooting from the floor and 38.5% effort from beyond the arc. Defensively, Golden State was 21st amongst league teams holding opponents to 117.1 ppg, 46.8% shooting from the field, and 36.4% from three.
Stephen Curry is piecing together another memorable postseason, scoring 31.4 ppg and shooting 48.7% from the field in the playoffs. Curry has averaged 33.0 ppg during the Warriors three-game winning streak. If Curry isn’t hitting shots, Klay Thompson (21.2 ppg) and Andrew Wiggins (19.4 ppg) are right there to pick up the slack for Golden State.
Golden State sports a 41-45-1 record ATS and a 28-14-1 mark ATS on its home floor. The Warriors have covered the spread in nine of their last ten contests played at home on a Friday.
The Pick is In
Arguably the most entertaining opening round playoff series if you like offense, these two lineups are healthy and stacked with scoring options. Golden State has been fantastic against the spread at home, but three of four losses for Sacramento in the Bay Area have come by five points or less. The Warriors close out the series, but the Kings keep it close.
The Pick: Sacramento Kings +7.5
