The Philadelphia 76ers are in Sacramento to take on the Kings on Monday night, looking to even out their road trip after losses to the Suns and Lakers, then a huge win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday. While the Sixers seemed assured of having a bad trip, the win over the Clippers can give them some new life as they close out their regular season schedule. The Kings are returning home after beating the Magic in Orlando on Saturday night and have been 7-3 over their last ten games.
Sixers vs. Kings betting information
Spread: Sixers +9.5 | Kings -9.5
Moneyline: Sixers +310 | Kings -395
Total: Over/Under 221.5
Sixers game information
Who: Philadelphia 76ers (39-32) at Sacramento Kings (41-29)
When: 10:00 pm EST
Where: Golden 1 Center, Sacramento CA
Watch: NBA TV, NBC Sports Philadelphia, NBC Sports California
Latest on the Sixers
After two poorly played losses to the Suns and Lakers to start their road trip, the Sixers came back strong with a convincing win over the Clippers, 121-107, in Los Angeles. While the Sixers have had some very poor shooting games of late Sunday afternoon, it seemed to all come together for the team as they shot 53.3% from the floor and 48.6% on their three-point attempts during their upset win.
For the first time in a while, the Sixers had everything working correctly. Much-maligned forward Tobias Harris finished the game with 24 points on 11-19 shooting and 2-4 on his three-pointers, which gave Harris his first really good game in quite some time.
All-Star guard Tyrese Maxey finished with 24 points as well, playing 44 minutes and shooting 52.9% from the floor and 60% on his three-pointers. Both players have had some difficulty getting quality shots and making shots of late, so the return to form could give the Sixers some hope as they head toward the end of the regular season.
In what seems to be becoming normal, Cam Payne was hot for the team off the bench, with 23 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists while shooting 53.3% from the floor and going 5-10 from deep. Payne has really stepped up for the team, even while facing limited minutes in the rotation, and has provided them with instant offense over the past few weeks while other players have not been perfuming as well.
The center duo of Mo Bamba and Paul Reed returned to put together another quality game, combining for 15 points and 15 rebounds, which is great for the team that’s been missing Joel Embiid for over a month now.
Latest on the Kings
The Kings are returning home after a Saturday night win over the Magic in Orlando, 109-107. They had Sunday off and should be rested, and their lineup presents a few problems for their opponents, with both De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis leading the way for the team. Their starting lineup is rounded out with forward Harrison Barnes and Keegan Murray, who can both give opposing teams fits, and then you have to deal with the development of Keon Ellis, which has really sparked the Kings of late.
With Fox and Sabonis on the floor, the scoring for the team is hard to manage for opposing defenses, as they can wear you down in a few different ways. Sabonis has to have his name in the MVP discussion this season, as he’s averaging 20 points, 13.7 rebounds, and 8.3 assists per game despite the Kings being in just 7th place in a loaded Western Conference this season. His height and game are going to be fits for anyone who is on the floor against him.
Fox, who’s spent his entire career in Sacramento, is leading the way this season with 26.7 points per game to go along with 4.5 rebounds and 5.7 assists. His scoring this season is in the top ten and just slightly behind such big names as Seth Curry, Jason Tatum, and Devin Booker. Fox has taken a leadership role this year and the Kings are playing very good basketball, especially over the past month as they head toward the playoffs.
The surprise for the Kings has been the play of guard Keon Ellis, who went undrafted in the 2022 NBA draft and signed on with a two-way contract for the Kings. While his scoring and output haven’t been out of this world, he’s shown enough in his development and energy on the floor that the Kings signed him to a three-year contract right after the deadline this season.
Over the last ten games, Ellis has been huge for the team, and while averaging just 7.4 points over that span, he’s shot 52.8% from the floor and 45.7% on his three-point attempts, giving the Kings a much-needed lift with Kevin Huerter injured.
What to watch for tonight
The Sixers will be looking to build on the great overall team effort and shooting from their win over the Clippers. The team still has an uphill battle as their schedule isn’t very easy for the remainder of the season, and they’ll need all of the effort and ability they showed against the Clippers to come through over the final eleven games of the season. They’re still well within striking distance of the 5th-place Magic, who hold a three-game lead in the standings if they’re to avoid the play-in tournament.
Guard Tyrese Maxey, while scoring consistently, seemed to regain his shooting touch against the Clippers and will need to keep that going Monday night against the Kings. The Sixers need Maxey to lead the way and if he’s able to get good looks, the young star is able to make the opposing teams pay for it. In addition, the Sixers need to find some rhythm for Buddy Hield, who was their big acquisition at the trade deadline and has fallen on some hard times after a hot start as a Sixer.
You have to hope that coach Nick Nurse will find a way to give Cam Payne some extra minutes, especially when going against a team like the Kings. His energy and scoring have been phenomenal of late and his instant offense, coming off the bench, has been much needed along the way. When players like Hield and Kelly Oubre Jr. aren’t hitting shots, the coach should be recognizing they may need to take a break and Payne seems to be perfect for coming off the bench and giving the team an instant boost.
Finally, we’ll need to see if the tag team center duo of Mo Bamba and Paul Reed are going to be able to handle Sabonis and give the team the quality minutes they’ve been combining for over the past few weeks. With the return of Embiid in question, the Sixers center combination is important as they head toward the playoffs.
As is always the question, especially over the past month, which Tobias Harris will show up for the Sixers tonight?
Prediction
Sixers 117 – Kings 121
