- The Sacramento Kings defeated the Golden State Warriors 114-106 in Game 2 of their best-of-seven first-round series last Monday night.
- With the win, the Kings have taken a 2-0 series lead and are now the -180 favorites to win the series.
- The Warriors are down 0-2 in a Playoff series for the first time in the Steph Curry era.
The 2023 NBA Playoffs saw the Sacramento Kings as the only higher seeded team opening as the betting underdog. The Kings opened at +220 odds and the Golden State Warriors were the -260 betting favorites.
Despite finishing with a better regular season record, the Kings were unproven as it was their first trip to the NBA playoffs in 17 years. Meanwhile, the Warriors struggled to get to the postseason. But they are the defending champions and have been in the postseason many times before.
Two games later, the roles have reversed. With the Kings taking a 2-0 series lead, they have jumped the Warriors as the -180 favorite at BetOnline to advance to the next round. The warriors are now +160 underdogs.
Down 0-2 For the First Time in the Steph Curry Era
After winning their 4th NBA title last season, the Golden State Warriors headed into this year looking to re-establish their dominance. The Dubs won the franchise’s first championship in 2015 and followed that up with back-to-back titles in 2017 and 2018.
Injuries caused them to lose to Toronto in the 2019 NBA Finals and they spent the next two years getting healthy.
After returning to full health, the Warriors would win the 2021-22 NBA Championship. With the same veteran core leading the charge this season, Golden State opened the year at +460 odds to win the Larry O’Brien trophy again. Unfortunately, things did not go as planned.
LIGHT THE BEAM!
The Kings put Curry down 0-2 for the first time in his career and the Warriors for the first time since 2007
Kings +2.5 💰
UNDER 238 💰Final Score:
Kings 114, Warriors 106 pic.twitter.com/dq9mVO8Yxt— BetOnline.ag (@betonline_ag) April 18, 2023,
The season was marred with Draymond Green punching Jordan Poole in practice and the Splash Brothers missing a ton of games.
Curry played in only 56 games this season while Klay Thompson appeared in only 69 games. Golden State never gained any momentum during the regular season and barely made the Playoffs as the 6th seed. However, many expected them to turn it on in the postseason when it mattered most.
Facing the Kings in the first round, expectations were high for the Dubs. The oddsmakers made them the first team in the last 35 years to open as the betting favorite as the no. 6 seed.
They had the second lowest odds to win the Western Conference entering the Playoffs and were the highest ranked Western Conference team in the title odds boards prior to the start of the postseason.
But after the Kings “upset” the Warriors for the second straight game, Golden State is down 0-2 in the series, marking the first time that has happened in the Steph Curry era and the first time for the Warriors since 2007.
Sir Clutch Brings It Home
Though they were a sizable series underdog, the Kings entered Game 1 getting just 1.5 points. Sacramento only had a modest 23-18 SU home record this season but Golden State was an atrocious 11-30 SU on the road this year. In Game 1, it was De’Aaron Fox who led the way.
Playing in his NBA Playoff debut, Fox scored 38 points. That tied for the second-highest scoring Playoff debut in league history. Once again, he lived up to his billing as the NBA’s best closer, hitting the big shots down the stretch. 29 of his total points scored also came in the second half.
𝐒𝐢𝐫 𝐂𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞 👑
@swipathefox becomes the inaugural winner of the Kia NBA Clutch Player of the Year award 🙌 pic.twitter.com/APJdN7ToyE— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) April 18, 2023
It wasn’t surprising that on Wednesday, Fox was named the first recipient of the NBA’s Clutch Player of the Year award. He led the NBA in clutch points this season with 194 clutch points, shooting better from the field during those moments at 53% than he did at all other times (51%).
In Game 2, Fox didn’t shoot that well from the floor as he went 10-of-23 for 24 points and was 1-9 from the three-point distance entering the final two minutes of the game.
But with 2:17 left, he made a backbreaking three-point basket that turned a precarious 104-101 lead to a more comfortable 107-101 advantage for the Kings. The Warriors never got close after that.
Now the Kings are up 2-0 in the series and they have a chance to put the defending champions on the ropes with another win in Game 3, which will be played at Chase Center. Interestingly, the Kings have not won on the road against the Warriors since February 25, 2020.
Oddsmakers Still Not Giving Up on the Warriors
Despite being down 0-2 in the series and Draymond Green suspended for Game 3 after stomping on a fallen Domantas Sabonis in the previous game, BetOnline still has the Warriors favored to win Game 3 with a -5.5 point spread and a -215 moneyline.
Although the Kings are now favored to win the series, BetOnline’s series props currently have a Warriors’ 4-3 series with the shortest odds at +315. Presuming the oddsmakers are correct with that prediction, they are saying that the Warriors will beat the Kings in four out of the next five games.
Looking ahead, the Kings only have the 5th best odds to win the Western Conference. While it isn’t surprising that the Suns (+220) and Nuggets (+275) have better odds than them, it’s still shocking to see the Lakers (+425) and even the Warriors (+675) have a better chance to win the West than the Kings (+700).
Among the 16 teams in the 2023 NBA playoffs, the Kings have the 8th best odds to win the 2023 NBA Championship at +2000 odds. Winning the championship wasn’t even a dream for the Kings who began the offseason with +75000 title odds. It has been a great run for Sacramento but if you ask them, they will say the job is not done yet.
