Kings Players Appear To Already Have Left For Seattle
The owners of the Sacramento Kings, the Maloof family, already have reached an agreement to sell the team to a group based out of Seattle that would move the franchise to the Emerald City next season. Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson, a former NBA All-Star, still is hoping to pull a rabbit out of the hat and work a deal to get the team a new arena in California's capital city to keep the Kings, but it's considered a long shot at best.
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It appears that Sacramento's players already have mentally moved on. Entering Monday's game at Utah, Sacramento has lost three straight and seven of eight (1-7 ATS). The team hasn't even covered back-to-back games since the start of January. Saturday's 39-point loss at the New York Knicks, in which the Kings trailed by an incredible 50 at one point, was the second time in the past five games that the Kings have lost by at least 28 points.
"It was terrible," guard Tyreke Evans said after the loss. "It was embarrassing. I can't explain it. It's the worst game ever played in the NBA."
The Kings have lost by 20 or more points eight times this season. So what to do? Sacramento probably should just start from scratch and start trading. Former Rookie of the Year Evans expects a maximum contract when he becomes a free agent after this season, but Evans is far from a max player. He is averaging a career-low 15.1 points this year and was held to seven in New York.
Then there's center DeMarcus Cousins. He has the talent to be a top 10 player in the league but often not the temperament. Cousins has taken a few public shots at coach Keith Smart, who already has been forced to bench him a few times this season. You never know what you will get with Cousins. He was one of the few Kings to show against the Knicks with 25 points and nine rebounds, but a few games prior to that had three points and two rebounds in a blowout loss at Denver. Overall he's averaging 17.4 points and 10.1 rebounds.
The trade deadline is February 21, so expect plenty of Kings rumors until then.
Super Bowl Cross-Sport Props Recap
Bettors fared well overall on the Super Bowl XLVII cross-sport props with Sunday's NBA action. In the Miami-Toronto matchup, LeBron James was a -120 favorite on his total rebounds and assists at -3.5 against the number of tackles for retiring Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis in Sunday night's game. Bettors leaned very heavily on James, and he finished with eight rebounds and seven helpers. Lewis had seven tackles, by far his fewest in the playoffs. LeBron was a pick'em on his total points against the number of points for the 49ers. San Francisco won that one 31-30, thanks to a late Ravens self-imposed safety, and it was a solid result for the book.
The Lakers' Kobe Bryant was at +5.5 on his total number of points Sunday against the Pistons compared to the number of receiving yards for San Francisco's Randy Moss. In perhaps his final NFL game, Moss had 41 yards on two catches, while Kobe had 18 points as Los Angeles won its fourth game of the past five. Lakers point guard Steve Nash was at +1.5 assists against the number of points for the Ravens in the first half. Nash finished with 10 assists and the Ravens with 21 points.
The book had to cancel a Chris Paul cross-sport prop against 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick because Paul sat out his seventh-straight game on Sunday against Boston due to a bruised knee. The Clips have missed Paul as they are 2-5 in that stretch. His teammate, Blake Griffin, was a pick'em on his combined points and rebounds against the number of receiving yards for Ravens running back Ray Rice. Griffin had 20 points and 11 boards, while Rice had 19 yards on four catches.
Early-Week Live Betting Preview
On Tuesday night, the book will offer live play-by-play betting on Bucks at Nuggets. Milwaukee has been improved since letting head coach Scott Skiles go. The Bucks are 8-5 under interim head coach Jim Boylan to reach five games over .500 for the first time since 2010. Perhaps the most underrated player in the NBA is Bucks center Larry Sanders. He had 17 points, 13 rebounds and six blocks in Saturday's win over Orlando. He also became the first player in the NBA this season with at least six offensive rebounds and six blocks in the same game. Sanders has had at least one block in an NBA-high 32-straight games.
On Wednesday, the book will offer Spurs at Timberwolves. It would be an upset if Spurs star Tim Duncan plays in that one. The 14-time All-Star sprained his knee and ankle in Saturday's game. He was very fortunate to avoid serious injury. Wednesday's game starts a season-high nine-game road trip for the Spurs, the team's annual "Rodeo Road Trip." San Antonio embarks on the trip on a 10-game winning streak (5-4-1 ATS).
Check back Thursday for a weekend Live Betting preview at the book.
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