In their final match-up of the 2018-19 NBA Regular Season, the LA Clippers head up north to face the Sacramento Kings in a vital game for both teams hunting for playoff position.
The LA Clippers (34-29) are currently slotted in the 7th seed, tied with the San Antonio Spurs.
Should the Clippers prevail against the Kings tonight, the Clippers will have sole possession of the 7th seed for at least tonight, in the wild, wild Western Conference.
The Clippers come off of a tough loss on Wednesday night against the Utah Jazz where shots just weren’t falling in the crucial stretch.
After tonight’s game, the Clippers will be in Los Angeles from March 1st-March 21st, in what might prove to be the key in the Clippers making the postseason this year.
Tonight’s Match-Up
The Sacramento Kings come off of a heartbreaking loss against the Milwaukee Bucks after losing in overtime at home on Wednesday night.
LA is 3-0 this season against the Kings and hope to sweep the season series for the 2nd consecutive season as this game has vital implications in the playoff race.
This will be the first game that the Kings face off against the new-look Clippers but they will be without rookie forward Marvin Bagley III, who suffered a left knee sprain against Milwaukee.
The Clippers will still be without forwards Wilson Chandler and Luc Mbah A Moute, who is progressing towards a comeback.
Luc Mbah a Moute (knee) getting shots up in Utah pic.twitter.com/HFIEnzDhIY
— Kristina Pink (@Kristina_Pink) February 28, 2019
In order for the Clips to prevail in the Capital of California, they must limit the Kings from getting out in transition as the Kings have one of the fastest guards in the league in De’Aaron Fox and solid sharpshooters on the outside in Buddy Hield and Bogdan Bogdanovic.
In each meeting, the Clippers shot above 48% and averaged 127 points per game against Sacramento, which has one of the leagues worst ranked defenses (27th).
The key in making sure that the crowd doesn’t play a factor is getting stops defensively.
The Kings have averaged 115 points per game against the Clippers in 3 games this and have one of the league’s most underrated big-man in Willie Cauley-Stein.
One Last Note
If the Clippers defeat the Kings tonight, they will hold a 3 game lead over Sacramento in the late stages of this year’s playoff race.
Last Week, Clippers Radio Announcer Brian Sieman claimed that if the Clippers were to beat Sacramento tonight, the Clippers wouldn’t have to worry about the Kings anymore and it could ultimately hurt the chances of them getting in the postseason.
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