The Sacramento Kings take on the injury-riddled New Orleans Pelicans tonight.
The pregame narrative: Brandon Ingram is the latest Pelican to go down and will be sidelined indefinitely after suffering an ankle injury on Dec. 7. I expect Sacramento to win but am backing Trey Murphy and Yves Missi to produce.
Check out my Kings vs. Pelicans same-game parlay predictions for Dec. 12.
Kings vs. Pelicans predictions
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Parlay: Kings moneyline + Murphy over 2.5 threes + Missi over 9.5 rebounds (+310)
Kings moneyline (-245): Ingram was basically the only Pelican to stay healthy this year but now he’ll be joining Zion Williamson, Jose Alvarado and Jordan Hawkins on the bench.
The small forward was averaging 22.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game but that didn’t manifest itself in many wins.
The Pelicans are 5-20 with just one win in their last 10 games.
Sacramento hasn’t been great this season (12-13 record) but is coming off consecutive wins where it scored 140-plus points.
The Kings’ entire starting five is healthy and that should be enough to take down a Pelicans team with no depth to speak of.
SGP legs
Murphy over 2.5 threes (-225): Murphy had a tough November after missing the first 10 games of the season but is beginning to find his stroke.
- November (7 GP): 29.9 3PT%, 1-6 against this line
- December (5 GP): 40.0 3PT%, 5-0 against this line
An uptick in production is nice but it’s good to know Murphy was coming close even when he fell short of this line. The fourth-year shooting guard has nabbed at least two 3s in every game this season.
Sacramento has the second-worst opponent 3-point defence (37.7%) in the NBA.
Missi over 9.5 rebounds (-125): It looks like New Orleans found something with the 2024 No. 21 pick.
Missi has been thrust into the starting role and has been thriving, averaging 14.0 points and 10.6 rebounds in his last eight games.
The Baylor product has cleared this line in three of his last four, logging 12-plus boards in each of those games.
Sacramento is good but not great on the glass (12th in rebound rate) and I think Missi can continue to produce in his increased role.
Picks made at 8:59 a.m. on 12/12/24.
Avery joined NorthStar Gaming as an intern in 2022 before stepping into a full-time role soon after. He loves betting on and analyzing golf — mainly because it’s easier than actually playing — but is a fan of all sports, from the NFL to the UFC.