Escaping the briskness of the windy city, and into the warmth of California sunshine, Demar DeRozan has enjoyed his start as a Sacramento King. On Friday night the Timberwolves visit the Kings in Sacramento. Both these teams made moves in the offseason in an effort to bolster strong squads into contending ones. This should be a good one as both teams are in West Group A.

Game Information

• Golden 1 Center Sacramento, California
• Timberwolves (6-5) visiting the Kings (7-5)
• Previous Matchup: Timberwolves @ Kings (117-115) October 24th, 2024

Betting Odds

• Over (-110)/Under (-110) 222
• Sacramento Kings +2.5 (-107) & (+115) on the Moneyline
• Minnesota Timberwolves -2.5 (-113) & (-135) on the Moneyline

All NBA Emirates Cup odds are courtesy of BetOnline 

Minnesota Timberwolves @ Sacramento Kings

NBA Cup play began on Tuesday and it was a historic night for the association as we saw gigantic performances from the best and brightest stars. NBA Cup play resumes tonight as the games will be held on Tuesdays and Fridays. We will have a ramp up in intensity as well as points as teams try to run up scores for point differential tiebreakers.

NBA Emirates Cup Game Analysis

The Timberwolves are 0-1 in Cup play and have a point differential of -14. If they lose this game and not even by much then they will be essentially eliminated from contention for the in-season championship. They need to win and win big. It will be a tall order. They’ve lost three straight and this is their third straight game on the road.

Anthony Edwards has spoken how the team needs to mature and Rudy Gobert has spoken about setting the tone for the rest of the team on defense – the locker room is aware they need a course correction.

Anthony Edwards on Wolves struggles:

“They give us the answers every night. We come in here at 35 [minutes] on the night, and they tell us what we need to do to win the game, and somehow we don’t do it every night. We got to get back to it. We got to mature, man.” pic.twitter.com/uNrFS75K4l

— HoopsHype (@hoopshype) November 14, 2024

The Sacramento Kings are one of the rare teams yet to have played during the group stage. If they win this game handily, they can bury Minnesota’s chances early in group play. The other teams in this group are the Rockets, Clippers, and Trailblazers. If the Kings want the crown then a solid win here puts them on the path. After starting 0-2 they’ve responded by going 7-3. A great start after the splashy acquisition of Demar.

Both of the bets I like in this game are on the Minnesota side but we need to talk about the Kings. Their offense is back to “LIGHT THE BEAM!” era levels. 116.5 points per game for 7th best in the NBA. SacTown also leads in the league in mid range percentage (59.8). The Big Three have been good and the chemistry is building. From owner down to player this franchise has its swagger back. 

Kings Owner Vivek Ranadive is a Real NBA Fan

Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive sitting courtside wearing a “they not like us” t-shirt against Drake’s Toronto Raptors. pic.twitter.com/2lOaliKEmH

— Matt George (@MattGeorgeSAC) November 7, 2024

Nevertheless, the Kings were bested by these same Timberwolves in the season opener. They do not shoot the three well (31.8% – 29th) and they do not get offensive rebounds. Minny traditionally loves to hit the defensive glass. Sacramento could struggle with second chances because outside of Sabonis no one is a large offensive rebounding threat. This will hurt an offence that will already struggle with playmaking in the second unit without Monk. It should also be of note that the complicated 5-out Princeton offense is difficult to grasp so backups may have trouble executing. 

Perhaps most importantly, the Timberwolves shooting should return to the mean. They shoot the three well and Sacramento struggles to defend beyond the arc. Unfortunately for Kings fans, the visitors will have every opportunity to control this game with their defence, rebounding, and shooting.

Injury Alert

The Kings will potentially be without aforementioned star acquisition as Demar DeRozan is listed as doubtful for the Kings. He did not practice Thursday. Additionally, Malik Monk will be out. This will be a lot for Sacramento to overcome as both wings are not just scorers but facilitators as well.

Alternatively, the Timberwolves come into Friday’s without a player on the injury report.

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NBA Player Prop: Rudy Gobert o11.5 Rebounds (-105)

Gobert has pole vaulted over this line in 6/8 Sabonis’ Kings tenure. The other two games? He had 11. He averages 13.3 rebounds in 19 games versus Domantas in his career overall. In a match-up that will have a playoff atmosphere I love the Frenchman’s opportunity here. The Wolves have not been themselves with defensive rebounds. Gobert is the reason for that because he hasn’t been himself yet this season.

Additionally, Domantas Sabonis is averaging 11.0 rebounds at home but 12.6 on the season. For whatever reason, he rebounds less at home. That coupled with Rudy’s history, and his anger with his own performances this week, I like this spot.

Best Bet: Timberwolves -2.5 (-110) on BetOnline

Despite all the aforementioned difficulties for the Timberwolves, they are still 6-5, and they are still the 6th ranked scoring defense. They hold opponents under 110 and defense travels. It hasn’t lately for the Timberwolves. Fortunately, NBA stars Rudy Gobert and Anthony Edwards know they have to set the tone. The King are 1-5 this season when facing a top 10 scoring defense.

The Kings also allow NBA teams to shoot 37.6 percent (28th) from three. The Ant-Man just went 0-9 from three and this is a great spot for him to see a couple go through the hoop. He and Randle both had success in the season opener. The same could be true tonight and that should bring a Timberwolves win. Consequently, they need more than the win or the cover. They need to make some of that point differential after dropping their first NBA cup game to Portland.

Minnesota will look to close out a tough road trip with a win. If they don’t then my faith will be shaken in this current iteration of the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Thanks for reading!

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