Kings vs. Pistons odds, predictions: NBA picks, best bets Monday
The NBA regular season has one week remaining, and this final stretch can make handicapping the league even more complicated than it usually is.
Some teams are already eliminated from the playoffs and actually benefit from losses in the form of improved draft position. Some others have basically solidified their playoff seeding and are mostly on cruise control until the postseason.
However, the Detroit Pistons host the Sacramento Kings on Monday with both teams pursuing important victories.
And that is a much more preferred situation for most sports bettors.
Detroit has clinched a playoff berth and will be no worse than the Eastern Conference’s sixth seed, but can still finish as high as the fourth seed.
Meanwhile, Sacramento’s situation is much more dire. The Kings can miss the playoffs entirely but also can continue to improve their play-in standing.
The biggest mistake recreational bettors make in these situations is assuming the best possible performance from a team with so much at stake. The perfect example is a bubble team during the last two weeks before Selection Sunday for the NCAA Tournament.
Way too often bettors overlook the reason the teams are stuck in such a critical situation and fighting for their postseason lives. Fundamentally, these teams have failed to win important games all season. Thus, why should we assume they deliver in this situation?
Thus, I am backing the Pistons as a home favorite.
Betting on the NBA?
All-Star Cade Cunningham just returned from injury and all the pieces fit perfectly around him. Plus, they are a tough team that plays with an edge, which cannot be said of Sacramento.
The Kings are mostly an inconsistent collection of mediocre talent alongside three-time All-Star Domantas Sabonis, who also has limitations. For example, Sacramento lost to the lowly Washington Wizards last week as 13-point favorites. Again, the Kings had so much on the line yet failed to execute. Plus, interim coach Doug Christie makes critical mistakes late in games.
At the end of the day, I would rather be in the foxhole of late-season NBA betting with the Pistons than the Kings.
I’ll lay the points and hope to improve on my 37-22-1 ATS record in this Post sports section.
BEST BET: Pistons -6.5 (-110, BetMGM)
Why Trust New York Post Betting
Doug Kezirian is a New York Post contributor who currently serves as the Chief Content Officer for Only Players, a sports betting media company. Doug has over two decades of experience in the betting space, including spending 11 years at ESPN as a host, columnist and betting analyst. He’s also the rare personality who has documented success – 14th place in 2023 Circa Million and Las Vegas SuperContest ($37K), two top-10 finishes in 2022 William Hill College Football Challenge ($58K) and also grabbed headlines with a $297K win on the 2021 NFL Draft.
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