The Sacramento Kings won eight out of their last nine games and are riding high on a four-game winning streak, including impressive victories over the Boston Celtics, Denver Nuggets, and LA Clippers. The Kings are crushing it thanks, in part, to De’Aaron Fox, who earned NBA Player of the Week honors for the Western Conference.
Fox is averaging 31 points and 8.8 assists per game during the Kings’ winning streak. He also scored 30-plus in three out of his last five games.
The Kings are winning close games against good teams. During their surge, the Kings edged out the Celtics, Nugs, and Clippers by less than five points.
I hate to be the Debbie Downer here, but, the fun times are about to end with the Kings hosting tough upcoming games against two of the best teams in the Eastern Conference when they take on the Philadelphia 76ers and Brooklyn Nets.
The Kings are above .500, which doesn’t happen often, so let’s celebrate their mini-streak while we can because it doesn’t look like it will last for much longer.
Regal Four-Game Winning Streak
Last month, Fox torched Zion Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans for a season-high 43 points. When they met again in New Orleans last week, Fox burned them for 38, including an insane, seven-minute stretch in the fourth quarter when he scored 17-straight points.
“Just trying to do whatever it takes to put us on top and, sometimes, it’s hitting another gear in the fourth quarter,” explained Fox. “When it’s time to make plays, you’ve got to be ready.”
“It makes the coaching job a lot easier on the sideline when he’s doing that down the stretch,” said head coach Luke Walton.
On Sunday, Fox dropped 36 points against the LA Clippers, who couldn’t figure out how to slow him down during a rare noon game.
“His speed and quickness really hurt us,” said Clippers head coach Ty Lue. “He was able to attack us all night and get into the paint and cause havoc.”
“It was a real scrappy win on this back-to-back with an early start,” said Walton.
The Kings played clamp-down defense and rallied back to win in the fourth quarter.
“If we can stay locked in defensively and we can keep our turnovers down, we can give ourselves a chance to win,” said Fox.
On Deck: Philly, Orlando, Memphis
The Kings spend the next 12 days in Sacramento. Five teams will visit California’s state capitol for showdowns with the Kings. The Kings need to take advantage of their home-court edge before they hit the road for a five-game road trip to the midwest and East Coast to end February.
The Philadelphia 76ers (17-7), Orlando Magic (9-15), and Memphis Grizzlies (9-10) will all visit Sacramento this week. Meanwhile, the Brooklyn Nets (14-11) and the Miami Heat (9-14) are on the slate next week.
The Kings are 13-10 against the spread this season and rank #7 overall in NBA ATS. The over hit in 14 out of 23 games for the Kings this season. They are the fourth-best team in the NBA in hitting overs.
In case you’re feeling frisky, the Kings are one of the long shots on the NBA futures board at +25000 odds to win the 2021 NBA Championship.