Sportsbooks don’t believe in the Sacramento Kings. The long-suffering franchise is currently +5000 to win the NBA Championship at BetMGM. If you had been sleeping through the season, you would likely assume this meant the team was desperately trying to secure a play-in spot.
That is most certainly not the case. Sacramento is the Pacific Division champion and will finish the regular season with the third seed in the Western Conference. They also lead the league in points per game for good measure.
And yet, Sportsbooks have zero faith in the Sacramento Kings. They have longer odds to win it all this year than the Dallas Mavericks who are currently outside of the play-in. The Golden State Warriors and both Los Angeles sides are also getting more love than the Beam Team. There is a good chance one of that trio finds itself facing the Kings in the first round.
Oddsmakers may be on to something here, however. Sacramento is a feel good story. But they are also a team with next to no playoff experience. Sorry, Harrison Barnes playing in the NBA Finals six years ago doesn’t really count. And Mike Brown will have some major issues if Matthew Dellavedova is in the postseason rotation.
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There is more to this than a lack of experience. The Kings seem really similar to Mike Budenholzer’s mid-2010s Atlanta Hawks. You have a lot of good players who have no issues navigating the regular season when other teams aren’t trying their hardest.
However, shortcomings are exposed when the competition ramps up. Simply winning was a big deal for Sacramento this year. That is not the case for a lot of teams during the 82-game grind. In the postseason, everyone wants to win.
What worked for the Atlanta Hawks in the regular season didn’t translate in the playoffs. There is a reason to think a similar scenario will play out with the Kings. Those +5000 odds to win the NBA Championship may seem outlandish at first glance. But there is a good reason Sportsbooks don’t believe in the Sacramento Kings.
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