Sacramento Kings vs Denver Nuggets Prediction, 12/23/2020 NBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Sacramento Kings vs Denver Nuggets

Date: Wednesday, December 23, 2020

Location: Ball Arena in Denver, CO

TV: Altitude

Odds/Point Spread: Sacramento (+8.5)

The Denver Nuggets (46-27 last season) host the Sacramento Kings (31-41 last year) at Ball Arena on Wednesday. The line on this game has Denver as 8.5-point favorites. The total has been set at 224.5.

Sacramento steps onto the hardwood after finishing with a win-loss record of 31-41 last season. They lost possession via turnover 14.5 times per contest and as a unit committed 22.2 personal fouls per contest. As a basketball team, Sacramento snagged 42.6 boards per contest and totaled 1,713 dimes last year, which had them ranked 16th in the league in terms of passing. The Kings shot 36.4% on 3-point shots (914 of 2,511) and 77.0% from the charity stripe. They averaged 110.1 points per game (22nd in basketball) while hitting 46.2% from the floor. On defense, the Kings forced 15.2 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 19.5 personal fouls. They relinquished 35.7% on shots from distance while they were 17th in basketball in PPG allowed (112.1). The Kings allowed a FG percentage of 47.1% (2,898 of 6,158) and they surrendered 43.5 rebounds per game as a team. They were 20th in the NBA in giving up assists to their opponents with 1,791 surrendered over the course of last year.

The Sacramento Kings stepped onto the hardwood against the Los Angeles Lakers and earned the victory with a final of 136-122 in their last contest. Sacramento ended with a 56.8% FG percentage (54 out of 95) and made 21 out of their 47 shots from 3-point land. At the charity stripe, the Kings made 7 of their 12 tries for a percentage of 58.3%. In relation to pulling down boards, they collected 44 with 9 of them being on the offensive end. They also recorded 37 dimes for this contest in addition to having 12 steals and 2 rejections. In the matter of defending, Sacramento allowed the other team to shoot 49.0% from the floor on 48 out of 98. Los Angeles earned 29 assists and 6 steals for this contest. In addition, the Lakers pulled down 47 rebounds (15 offensive, 32 defensive) and added 2 blocked shots. Los Angeles finished the game at 73.3% from the charity stripe by making 11 of 15 shots. They also knocked down 15 of 35 shots from distance.

Nemanja Bjelica is one guy who saw a lot of minutes in this matchup. He racked up 15 points on 5 of 8 shooting. He saw the court for 32:22 and snagged 8 rebounds. Bjelica finished the game at 62.5% from the floor and also recorded 13 dimes. Another guy that came through in this game for the Kings was Bogdan Bogdanović. He collected 6 boards and also earned 9 assists. He finished shooting 47.8% from the field for this contest by going 11-of-23 (27 points). In all, Bogdanović saw the court for 26:59.

Denver had a record of 46-27 last year. The Nuggets were responsible for committing 20.3 fouls per contest and they went 77.7% from the free throw line. Their rate of assisting teammates was at 26.7 times per game (4th in the NBA) and they turned the ball over 13.8 times per contest. Denver earned 8,124 points last season (111.3 per game) and they grabbed 44.1 boards per game. On the offensive side of the ball, the Nuggets hit 47.3% from the field, which was ranked 4th in the league. The Nuggets on the defensive side of the court were 11th in basketball in points given up per game with 109.2. The Denver defense surrendered 35.8% on shots from 3-point land (885 of 2,473) and their opponents knocked down 75.9% of their shots from the free throw line. They forced their opponents into 14.3 TO's per game and allowed teams to shoot 46.3% from the floor (15th in the league). They relinquished 25.4 assists and 42.6 total boards per game, which was ranked 24th and 4th in basketball.

The last time they took the court, the Denver Nuggets took a defeat with a final score of 117-107 when they faced the Los Angeles Lakers. The Nuggets were able to collect 27 defensive rebounds and 9 offensive boards for a total of 36 for the matchup. They turned away 2 attempts while getting 5 steals in this game. The Lakers committed 26 fouls for the matchup which took the Nuggets to the charity stripe for a total of 26 attempts. They were able to make 23 of them for a rate of 88.5%. When discussing shooting from downtown, Denver converted 8 out of their 30 tries (26.7%). When this game wrapped up, the Nuggets finished 38 for 90 from the field which gave them a percentage of 42.2%. The Nuggets allowed the Lakers to make 42 of their 77 attempts from the floor which left them with a shooting percentage of 54.5% in this matchup. They went 37.5% from distance by shooting 9 out of 24 and ended up shooting 24 of 29 from the charity stripe (82.8%). When it comes to how they cleaned up the glass, Denver allowed Los Angeles to pull down 43 overall (5 offensive).

Jerami Grant ended up playing a lot for the Nuggets for the game. He buried 7 out of 18 for the matchup for a rate of 38.9%, which got him 20 points. Grant pulled down 9 rebounds in his 45:37 of time on the hardwood and tallied 2 assists in this game. An additional guy that ended being a contributor for Denver was Jamal Murray. He ended up with 19 points in his 43:05 on the hardwood by way of 7 out of 17 from the floor in this matchup. Murray ended up shooting 41.2% from the field as well as contributing 8 assists and 4 total rebounds.

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Sacramento (+8.5)

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