NBA expert Daniel Costanza previews Saturday's action and recommends backing both the Philadelphia 76ers and the Sacramento Kings.
NBA betting tips: Saturday October 22
2pts Philadelphia 76ers -11.5 at 4/5 (BoyleSports)
2pts Sacramento Kings +3.5 at 4/5 (Sky Bet)
0.5pt Sacramento Kings to win at 7/5 (William Hill)
San Antonio Spurs @ Philadelphia 76ers
The 76ers are not off to the ideal 2-0 start they would have hoped to see themselves sitting at going into this evening's matchup with the San Antonio Spurs. Instead, Joel Embiid and company are sitting winless at 0-2 and will be looking to right the ship by getting a win at home against a Spurs team who has played little to no defence thus far.
The Spurs have let up 129 points at home to the Hornets in their season opener, and last night gave up 134 points in a game they won at Indiana by a score of 137-134. The Pacers made a valiant effort by scoring 49 points alone in the fourth quarter but could not complete the comeback victory against the Spurs.
We now see San Antonio take the trip over to Philadelphia and on short rest face the tall task of preventing a hungry 76ers team from getting their first win of the season. I certainly don’t expect San Antonio to solve their defensive woes in a few shorts hours, and if the 76ers can stay focused on the task at hand and not overlook this Spurs team, they should cruise to a comfortable victory.
The 76ers have had a pair of tough tests to start the season, taking the trip up to Boston to open the season and then hosting the Milwaukee Bucks where they made a valiant effort to come back in the fourth quarter but ultimately fell short.
James Harden has been nothing short of spectacular to open the season, averaging 33 points, eight assists, and eight rebounds across his opening pair of games. Equally impressive is the fact he is shooting 57.9% from the field, and certainly looks to be reaping the benefits of the time he spent working out over the offseason.
Philadelphia simply has too much star power on offense with Embiid, Harden, and Maxey for San Antonio to match. While the Spurs have been solid themselves on offense, I don’t expect them to be able to go blow for blow with the 76ers after coming in on short rest and having to deal with a well-rested 76ers team looking for their first win.
I like the 76ers to cover the point spread and get their winning ways on track Saturday evening.
Los Angeles Clippers @ Sacramento Kings
The Kings also did not get off to the start they envisioned, dropping their opening game at home to the Portland Trailblazers.
After looking like they were starting to put the game away, the Kings scored just four points in the final five minutes of the game, whereas the Blazers scored 16 and completed the comeback win.
Domantas Sabonis was somewhat limited due to foul trouble and ultimately fouled out of the game in the closing minutes. I look for him to bounce back from that performance and have a stronger showing against a Clippers team coming into Sacramento off the back of their opening win against LeBron and the Lakers.
An encouraging sign for Sacramento was a solid defensive showing against the Blazers, which was one of their glaring weaknesses last season.
They will also hope to have their fourth overall selection in the Draft, Keegan Murray, back in action after missing the opener due to an illness. Murray has played well through the preseason and was named MVP of the Summer League for his spectacular play.
Instead, the Clippers will be shorthanded Saturday night with Kawhi Leonard and John Wall sitting out to help manage their returns from injury. The Clippers will be playing back to back on Saturday and Sunday and have opted to rest Leonard and Wall against the Kings before their matchup with the Suns on Sunday.
The Kings are probably feeling like they should be 1-0 right now, and certainly won’t see the Clippers as an easy task, with or without Kawhi Leonard. It will be important to get a win notched on their record as they’ve got Steph Curry and Golden State up next. The Clippers played very good defence against the Lakers, but I believe the Kings can create enough problems for them and if they can get Clipper centre Ivica Zubac into foul trouble, it could be hard for them to find answers to the problem Sabonis will present them with in the paint.
I think the Kings are being overlooked here, as they get Murray back and should see their star De’Aaron Fox continue to build off his fantastic 33-point performance in their opener. I like the Kings to cover the spread and would not be surprised to see them win this game outright.
Posted at 1430 on 22/10/22
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