The Sacramento Kings will host the Portland Trail Blazers on October 19 to start their NBA season. The Kings and Trail Blazers both finished in the bottom portion of the Western Conference last season and missed the play-in tournament.
The Kings have drawn a lot of early betting attention as the hype has snowballed around Fox and the new roster adjustments. The Trail Blazers have Dame Lillard back, but the tanking rumors are concerning if you're a Portland fan or a bettor.
Portland Trail Blazers vs Sacramento Kings Match Details
Fixture: Portland Trail Blazers @ Sacramento Kings
Date and Time: Wednesday, October 19, 10.00 PM EST
Venue: Golden 1 Center
Portland Trail Blazers vs Sacramento Kings Betting Odds
Get your $1,000 No Sweat First Bet by clicking here and joining FanDuel
Portland Trail Blazers vs Sacramento Kings Key Stats
The Portland Trail Blazers finished 27-55 last season. As mentioned, a healthy Dame Lillard is a huge game-changer compared to last season, when he only saw 29 games.
The Trail Blazers don't have a ton of depth; relying on Josh Hart and Anfernee Simons to get a heavy workload with Gary Payton on the injury report. Jusuf Nurkic can give respectable production and shot blocking ability at the center position, but as far as All-NBA caliber players go, Dame is their only leader.
The Kings have an exciting, fresh look with some new additions to the staff. Head Coach Mike Brown is new to the role and comes from an ideal background; he has learnt and watched first-hand how to run a ball club from Steve Kerr.
He's a defensive-minded coach who will look to balance that by figuring out how to optimize the offensive weapons of Fox and Sabonis.
As for tonight, a strong defensive showing is likely given that the only main threat is Dame Lillard. While doubling down on Dame defensively, the Kings' off-ball defense should improve significantly.
Coach Brown should be able to inspire some new looks offensively between Fox, Sabonis, Monk, and Huerter. This Kings team could surprise some people this season.
New DraftKings players get a deposit bonus up to $1,000
Portland Trail Blazers vs Sacramento Kings Betting Prediction
Given all of the hype, the Kings still have some proving to do, and that won't be accomplished in one game. Look for the first game nerves to be a factor tonight and slow the total scoring, especially given the lack of star power.
The Kings will be the better team, but Dame will keep them within striking distance for much of the game. Look forward to a semi-close, low-scoring win for the Kings tonight.
Prediction: Kings Moneyline (-126), Under 229 (-110)
$1,000 Risk-Free Bet for all new BetMGM players here
Trail Blazers Nation! You can check out the latest Portland Trail Blazers Schedule and dive into the Trail Blazers Depth Chart for NBA Season 2024-25.