The Sacramento Kings have had one of the best offseasons in the NBA. They re-signed Malik Monk, traded for DeMar DeRozan, and drafted Devin Carter, among other positive transactions. However, all those wonderful moves don't seem to be enough to get the oddsmakers to put some respect on their name.
According to DraftKings Sportsbook, the Kings aren't currently projected to be a top six team in the Western Conference, as they are tied with the New Orleans Pelicans for seventh in over/under win total.
Western Conference Team | Over/Under Win Total Projection (via DraftKings Sportsbook) |
|---|---|
Oklahoma City Thunder | 54.5 |
Minnesota Timberwolves | 52.5 |
Denver Nuggets | 52.5 |
Dallas Mavericks | 50.5 |
Phoenix Suns | 46.5 |
Memphis Grizzlies | 46.5 |
Sacramento Kings | 45.5 |
New Orleans Pelicans | 45.5 |
Los Angeles Lakers | 44.5 |
Los Angeles Clippers | 41.5 |
Houston Rockets | 41.5 |
It makes perfect sense that the Oklahoma City Thunder, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Dallas Mavericks are all ahead of the Kings in this category (the Thunder and Mavericks have also had insanely impressive offseasons). But the Kings should be right there with the Denver Nuggets, Phoenix Suns, and Memphis Grizzlies.
As we've discussed before, the Nuggets lost a key part of their championship starting five in Kentavious Caldwell-Pope for nothing in return. On top of that, a tragic summer league injury has left DaRon Holmes II out for the entirety of next season.
The Suns have done nothing to drastically improve their deeply flawed roster. Meanwhile, the Grizzlies have a ton of talent but have struggled to stay healthy over the last couple of years. On the flip side, the Kings tout a cast of iron men in Domantas Sabonis (82 games played last year), DeMar DeRozan (79 games), Keegan Murray (77 games), and De'Aaron Fox (74 games), that they can always count on.
The Kings should be considered one of the top six teams in this conference (which would allow them to avoid the play-in tournament), and they have a puncher's chance of securing a top four seed if everything breaks in their favor.
Now, it is worth noting that there are just two games separating the projected five and nine seeds. Per usual, the Western Conference is hyper-competitive. So, it is hard to quibble too much about the standings, as any of these teams could end up higher/lower in the standings depending on whether things break for/against them.
As I alluded to earlier, I don't think the Nuggets over/under should be set at 52.5 (so, I'd hammer that under). Even with the best player on the planet in Nikola Jokic, the Nuggets got worse in a conference where you always need to improve to keep pace. Under those circumstances, it would be very difficult to maintain a top-three seed in the West.