LA Clippers vs Sacramento Kings Prediction & Match Preview - December 22nd, 2021 | NBA Season 2021-22
The Los Angeles Clippers will head to the Golden 1 Center for a Western Conference matchup against the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday. The two teams have met twice in the regular season so far, with the Kings winning both games convincingly despite their poor form against the other teams.
The Clippers will be hoping to register a win against the Kings in Sacramento to seek revenge for those two defeats. They head into the game on the back of a blowout loss to the San Antonio Spurs. With Paul George returning, the team will now be hoping to get back to winning ways, starting against the Kings on the road.
As far as Sacramento are concerned, they come into the game after suffering a defeat against the in-form Golden State Warriors. Tyrese Haliburton scored 24 points, but his efforts were in vain as Steph Curry and company ran away with the win. The Kings will be keen to put up a good fight and make things extremely difficult for the Clippers, who are looking to get back their consistency.
Match Details
Fixture: LA Clippers vs Sacramento Kings | NBA Season 2021-22
Date & Time: Wednesday, December 22, 11:00 PM ET [Thursday, December 23, 8:30 AM IST]
Venue: Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, CA
LA Clippers Preview
The Los Angeles Clippers have played some amazing basketball in the absence of Kawhi Leonard. They also missed the services of Paul George for several games, but still remained competitive and pulled off a few important wins.
The team holds a 16-15 record and sits sixth in the West. However, as the season progresses, they will want to improve on that and climb further up the table.
Key Player - Paul George
Paul George has been the go-to guy for the Clippers in the absence of Kawhi Leonard. He was out of the team for a few games due to an injury. However, he is now back and is all set to pick up from where he left off. The 31-year-old is averaging 25.0 PPG, 7.2 RPG and 5.4 APG through 25 appearances. Sacramento has a leaky defense, allowing 114.0 PPG (29th) and a defensive rating of 112.8, which George will be looking to exploit.
LA Clippers Predicted Lineup
G - Reggie Jackson, G - Luke Kennard, F - Paul George, F - Terance Mann, C - Ivica Zubac
Sacramento Kings Preview
The Sacramento Kings are a team that had a lot of promise and high expectations coming into the 2021-22 season. However, the team have failed to live up to any of them and had to also fire Luke Walton as their head coach.
The Kings hold a 13-19 record and sits at the 10th position in the West. They have lost three of their last five games and will be hoping to get some consistency into their journey. Going into the game, the team will have a lot of their stars in the Health and Safety Protocols - De'Aaron Fox, Davion Mitchell, Marvin Bagley III, Terence Davis, Alex Len, Louis King and Neemias Queta, along with interim coach Alvin Gentry.
Key Player- Harrison Barnes
Harrison Barnes is one of the few Kings players not in the health and safety protocols. He started the season brilliantly and has built on it by averaging 17.5 PPG and 6.5 APG while shooting 45.1% from the field. With other players like De'Aaron Fox and Marvin Bagley out, the team is now looking to Harrison Barnes to lead them to victory.
Sacramento Kings Predicted Lineup
G - Tyrese Haliburton, G - Buddy Hield, F - Harrison Barnes, F - Chimezie Metu, C - Tristan Tompson
Clippers vs Kings Match Prediction
The Clippers will come into this game with expectations of going away with a win. Meanwhile, the Kings are short-handed and have many of their players on the Health and Safety Protocols. All things considered, the Clippers look like favorites to come out with a win in this encounter.
Where to watch the Clippers vs Kings Game?
All NBA games will be streamed live on the official NBA app. The game between the two teams will also be locally telecast on NBC Sports California and Bally Sports SoCal.