76ers at Kings NBA Pick for February 9

We have seven games around the NBA on tap for Tuesday night. None of the matchups screams “potential Finals preview,” but we do have a potentially fun contest going down in California’s capital city. The Philadelphia 76ers, who own the best record in the Eastern Conference at 17-7, will face the red-hot Kings in Sacramento.

Don’t look now, but the Kings would be a playoff team if the season ended today. The Kings haven’t advanced to the postseason since 2006, which is easily the longest playoff drought in the entire league. However, Luke Walton quietly has his team playing excellent basketball of late. Sacramento comes into tonight’s game at 12-11 on the season and riding a four-game winning streak.

Despite the Kings’ impressive play of late, the Sixers are listed as road favorites in this one. BetOnline.ag has the 76ers -5 points here in a game with an over/under of 230 points.

Can the Kings Stop Embiid?

The top priority for Sacramento tonight has to be stopping Joel Embiid. Obviously, that’s easier said than done. LeBron James may be the betting frontrunner for MVP right now, but Embiid is building a strong case of his own.

Embiid’s efficiency is vastly improved. The Kansas product is shooting better than 55 percent from the field so far this season, which is easily the best mark of his career. He has been one of the most gifted offensive big men in the NBA over the years, but he has never shot better than 50 percent over the course of a full season. Embiid has also connected on 39 percent of his three-point attempts, which is no small feat for a guy whose career percentage from beyond the arc is down around 32 percent.

The 6’10” Richaun Holmes is a solid offensive player for the Kings, but it’s hard to imagine Holmes has the size or strength to deal with Embiid. The Sixers’ center has scored at least 33 points in each of his last four games, and he has a noteworthy size advantage over Holmes. The Kings may be forced to try and combat Embiid’s size with some extra playing time for Hassan Whiteside off the bench.

The Sixers have enjoyed such a strong start to the season thanks in large part to a vastly improved defense. Philadephia comes into this game ranked fourth in the league in defensive rating, allowing just 105.2 points per 100 possessions. Only the Lakers, Rockets, and Jazz have been more stingy to this point. Philadephia finished seventh in that department a season ago.

Fox Playing Like An All-Star

Some eyebrows were raised when the Kings signed De’Aaron Fox to a “supermax” extension during the offseason, but that deal is looking like a bargain these days. Fox doesn’t get a whole lot of national publicity playing in relative obscurity out on the west coast, but his exploits should start to earn him some additional notoriety.

Fox has been outstanding all season long. The former Kentucky Wildcat is averaging 23 points per game on the season, but he has really stepped things up of late. Through four games in February, Fox has averaged 31 points and 8.8 assists while shooting nearly 55 percent from the field. It’s no coincidence that the Kings have won all four of those games.

The wins have been impressive ones, too. The Kings aren’t just beating up on the dregs of the NBA. Each of the Kings’ last three wins have come over surefire playoff teams in the Celtics, Nuggets, and Clippers. The first victory in their current four-game streak came at the expense of a Pelicans team that has been playing well lately, too.

Fox is the headliner, but rookie Tyrese Haliburton has been phenomenal, as well. Many believed the Kings got a steal when Haliburton fell into their laps with the No. 12 pick in the draft, and he has wasted no time in establishing himself as a key part of the Kings’ future plans. During the winning streak, Haliburton is averaging 15.5 points, 5.5 assists, and 5.0 rebounds in over 31 minutes per game. He has been coming off the bench, but the rookie is almost always closing games alongside four starters.

What’s the Best Bet?

This should be the most entertaining game of the seven on tonight’s NBA calendar. Not many people have been paying attention to the exploits of the Kings, but you can argue that no team has been playing better basketball so far in February. Sacramento still ranks dead-last in the league in defensive efficiency for the season, but over their last four games, they actually rank a respectable 11th in that department. The improved effort on the defensive end has been a key in the Kings’ recent surge.

The 76ers are justifiable favorites here given how well the team has played all season long, but this will also be the first game of a four-game west coast road trip. Eastern Conference teams tend to have a difficult time adjusting to the time zone change, which should give the Kings something of a home-court advantage here, even if there will be no fans in the building.

I think Sacramento keeps this game close, even if they don’t ultimately come away with a win. The Kings’ +185 moneyline odds are admittedly alluring, but the better value is to bet on Sacramento to cover at home.

The Kings are 13-10 against the spread on the year, which is one of the best ATS marks in the league. The 76ers are right there at 13-10-1, as well.

Bet the Kings to cover the spread at home tonight against Philly.