The Sacramento Kings kept their NBA playoff dreams alive on Tuesday night with a victory over the Golden State Warriors, moving on to compete against the New Orleans Pelicans in the play-in tournament for the right to play the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round.
Here's everything you need to know prior to these teams battling it out on the hardwood.
Sacramento Kings Vs. New Orleans Pelicans Hub
Game Information
- Matchup Page: New Orleans Pelicans vs. Sacramento Kings
- Date: Friday, April 19, 2024
- Time: 9:30 p.m. ET
- Location: Smoothie King Center; New Orleans, Louisiana
The Pelicans are 5-0 against the Kings this season.
— StatMuse (@statmuse) April 17, 2024
They play each other for the 8 seed. pic.twitter.com/MliJ4C6lur
Sacramento Kings vs. New Orleans Pelicans Betting Odds
| Team | Spread | Money | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sacramento Kings | -1.5 (-112) | -124 | O 214 (-110) |
| New Orleans Pelicans | +1.5 (-110) | +106 | U 214 (-110) |
Sacramento enters as the narrow favorites despite playing on the road. New Orleans just lost its No. 7 vs. No. 8 play-in game against the Los Angeles Lakers at home, and will now be without Zion Williamson after he injured his hamstring during the fourth quarter of Tuesday's defeat.
.@wojespn and @MichaelWilbon with the latest on Zion Williamson's injury: pic.twitter.com/xgKOY9Was1
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) April 17, 2024
Sacramento Kings vs. New Orleans Pelicans Head-to-Head History 2023-24 (Pelicans 5-0)
| Date | Location | Final Score |
|---|---|---|
| April 11, 2024 | Golden 1 Center | 135-123 Pelicans |
| Jan. 7, 2024 | Golden 1 Center | 133-100 Pelicans |
| Dec. 4, 2023 | Golden 1 Center | 127-117 Pelicans |
| Nov. 22, 2023 | Smoothie King Center | 117-112 Pelicans |
| Nov. 20, 2023 | Smoothie King Center | 129-93 Pelicans |
The Pelicans are the first team since the Miami Heat in 1995-96 to go a perfect 5-0 against a single team in a season, which Miami accomplished against the New Jersey Nets.
Sacramento Kings vs. New Orleans Pelicans Spreads (2023-24)
| Date | Spread (Kings) | Spread (Pelicans) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 11, 2024 | -1.5 | +1.5 | Pelicans Cover (Underdogs) |
| Jan. 7, 2024 | -4.5 | +4.5 | Pelicans Cover (Underdogs) |
| Dec. 4, 2023 | -3 | +3 | Pelicans Cover (Underdogs) |
| Nov. 22, 2023 | -1.5 | +1.5 | Pelicans Cover (Underdogs) |
| Nov. 20, 2023 | -2 | +2 | Pelicans Cover (Underdogs) |
Oddsmakers clearly didn't learn their lesson after the first handful of victories for New Orleans, as they listed the Pelicans as the underdog in each and every game against the Kings. New Orleans went 18-14 SU and 20-11-1 ATS in 2023-24, with five wins on each front coming versus Sacramento.
Sacramento Kings vs. New Orleans Pelicans OVER/UNDER (2023-24)
| Date | Score | O/U Total | Final Total | O/U Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 11, 2024 | 135-123 | 217.5 | 258 | OVER |
| Jan. 7, 2024 | 133-100 | 234 | 233 | UNDER |
| Dec. 4, 2023 | 127-117 | 238 | 244 | OVER |
| Nov. 22, 2023 | 117-112 | 235 | 229 | UNDER |
| Nov. 20, 2023 | 129-93 | 237 | 222 | UNDER |
This matchup went 2-3 when hitting the OVER across five meetings, with the actual total steadily getting higher as the season progressed. Each team hit the OVER exactly 36 out of a possible 82 times overall.
Key Matchup
| Player | Games | PPG | FG% | 3P% | REB | AST | STL | BLK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CJ McCollum | 3 | 26.0 | 60.4 | 70.4 | 4.3 | 6.0 | 1.3 | 1.3 |
| Keegan Murray | 4 | 11.5 | 36.8 | 42.3 | 3.3 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 0.3 |
With Williamson now out of the equation, CJ McCollum will need to channel the player he was throughout the five games against Sacramento at least one more time on Friday as he was undoubtedly New Orleans' best player in this matchup. He was mostly an afterthought against the Lakers, though, converting just one of his nine 3-point attempts for nine points in 30 minutes of action, with three of his teammates off the bench outscoring him.
The sentiment actually rings the polar opposite for Keegan Murray, who struggled against the Pelicans during the season but is coming off a stellar showing against the Warriors. The 23-year-old recorded a game-high 32 points and drilled 8 shots from the perimeter in 39 minutes.
Keegan Murray scored 32 PTS and knocked down a Play-In record 8 threes in the Kings' 24-point win over the Warriors
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) April 17, 2024
Keegan: 8/13 3PT
Warriors: 10/32 3PTpic.twitter.com/9fEz1geB4N
Expert Pick: Sacramento Kings, -124
Going 0-5 is historically-poor enough, and falling to 0-6 would be even worse. The Williamson injury does change a lot, however, as he suited up four times against the Kings and averaged 23 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 5.8 assists. That's a huge absence to compensate for.
New Orleans can take solace in the fact, though, that it destroyed Sacramento on Jan. 7 in the Kings' backyard by 33 points when Williamson was also unavailable.
All signs point towards the Pelicans pulling out another win, because they certainly haven't given fans and bettors alike a reason not to trust them against this specific opponent.
It's just Sacramento is far too talented to be this awful this many times against the same exact team, and it looked like a well-oiled machine when putting the beatdown on the Warriors and perhaps sending that franchise towards a rebuild.
