The Sacramento Kings seem a world away from the beam lighters of years past. They dealt their star point guard De’Aaron Fox to San Antonio for Zach LaVine, which reunited LaVine with his former running mate DeMar DeRozan. They also fired their coach Mike Brown after a 13-18 start last season, and promoted interim coach Doug Christie to full-time head coach in May.
There is a lot different in Sacramento but somehow, it feels the same. They have recreated the 2023 Bulls in record time, down to the older
guard (Goran Dragic, Dennis Schroder) and foreign center (Nikola Vucevic, Domantas Sabonis). That team won 40 games, and it is hard to see this Sacramento team doing anything but that. Like Chicago, they have assembled a perfect team to sell tickets but not one good enough to be taken seriously in the playoffs. The play-in seems like destiny once again for this team that is infatuated with being competent enough.
Sacramento Kings: Over/Under 34.5 Wins (-110/-110)
Last Season: 40-42
Additions: Maxime Reynaud, Dennis Schroder
Losses: Jonas Valenciunas
Despite having a roster that does not inspire post-season success, they have the two guys you want if you’re trying to win 40 games. DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine won 46, 40, and 39 games in their three full seasons in Chicago together, and the Kings finished at 40 wins after dealing for the duo last year. This is an easy bet, 34.5 wins is too low of a mark for a team that has enough talent to be competitive on any night. Christie went 27-24 with a similar roster last season, which is a 43-win pace.
