Sacramento Kings are hoping to bounce back from their 2nd defeat of the season against Atlanta Hawks (106:95). Today, they will have a chance to do so in the upcoming match against Miami Heat.
On Saturday night, Kings got their 2nd win of the season against Minnesota Timberwolves (106-103), and much of that success is due to Cousins great performance. He has accumulated 29 points, 4 assists and 7 rebounds. Another player who stepped up is Rudy Gay with28 points, 2 assists and 5 rebounds. Bringing a new coach seemed to paid off, as Kings has improved their defence, reducing the number if points the opponents score against them by 10 compared to last season. Of course it’s too early to call it a huge improvement, as they have only played 4 game so far. But it’s a improvement nevertheless. Looking at their previous match against Hawks, Cousins has not had his best night, combining 14 points, 1 assists, but managed to get 12 rebounds. Still, the scoring was not as we could expect from him. This only shows how dependant Kings are of his performance and he will need to repeat his showing from a match against Timberwolves for the upcoming match. If not, Kings will have a hard time against Miami.
Miami Heat are coming from 2 consecutive losses against Hornets (91:97) and Spurs (99:106). Looking at the match against Spurs, Whiteside has been all over the court (27 points, 1 assist, 15 rebounds), but his team still failed short of 7 points in the end. He has shot 67%from the field, whereas his team made just 41.5% of the shots. Whiteside wasn’t able to carry his team here, and he won’t be able to do so for the upcoming matches. His team will need step up for this fixture. All in all, Heat shot 46.3% front the field and gave up the ball 12 times. The departure of Wade is clearly seen, as Heat only managed to pass the 100 point mark 1 time in 3 games played so far. Whiteside is doing his job in this department, as mentioned before. Now it’s time for a team as a whole to improve.
Verdict & Prediction
Kings are coming into this fixture after a tough night and are expected to be tired. This will work in Heat favour, and they will be hoping this will slow down Cousins and his scoring. On the other side, Whiteside will be rested and he has show he can rack up points if he is not stopped. For me, Miami has a upper hand in this one and a great opportunity to bounce back from 2 consecutive losses.
Prediction: Miami Heat -4
Odds: 1.86 Pinnacle
