The Daily Sweat: Can Kings take a 2-0 lead in their series vs. the Warriors?
The Sacramento Kings were big underdogs in their first-round playoff series, and that seemed disrespectful.
The Golden State Warriors are the defending NBA champions and have a great history, but Sacramento won 48 games this season. The Kings were the No. 3 seed and had home-court advantage, not the Warriors. There's still a long way to go in the series but the Kings played well in Game 1, just like they did most of the regular season. Sacramento won, 126-123, and lead the series, 1-0. And the Kings are 1.5-point home underdogs at BetMGM for Monday's Game 2. The Kings are still +120 to win the series.
The only way to get respect is to keep winning, and that's the challenge for Sacramento on Monday night.
The Kings will need big individual performances, like they got in Game 1. De'Aaron Fox scored 38 points and Malik Monk surprised with 32. Some more good rebounding work on the offensive glass and an amped-up home crowd will help too.
The Warriors could win Game 2 and take control of the series. But the Kings are capable of upsetting those plans.
Here's a first look at the sports betting slate for Monday:
Nets-76ers play Game 2
The other Game 2 on Monday probably won't be as competitive. The Philadelphia 76ers took Game 1 against the Brooklyn Nets with a 121-101 win, and the 76ers are 10.5-point favorites in Game 2. That's a big spread, but the Nets are going to have to prove they can be competitive in this series.
NHL playoffs start
There's a four-pack of Game 1s in the NHL on Monday as the hockey playoffs start. Here are the odds:
New York Islanders at Carolina Hurricanes (-175)
Florida Panthers at Boston Bruins (-225)
Minnesota Wild at Dallas Stars (-145)
Los Angeles Kings at Edmonton Oilers (-200)
The record-setting Bruins enter the playoffs as clear favorites to win the Stanley Cup at +325 odds.
MLB includes an early start
We have an early MLB game at Fenway Park. It's a fun one too, with Shohei Ohtani on the mound for the Los Angeles Angels. The Angels are -145 favorites over the Boston Red Sox for the 11:10 a.m. Eastern start.
That's the first of 13 games on the schedule for Monday. That includes the start of a couple great series: Toronto Blue Jays (-120) at Houston Astros and Atlanta Braves (-145) at San Diego Padres.
What's the best bet?
There's certainly plenty to choose from. I get that going with the Kings goes against zig-zag betting, and the Warriors are a proud champion that could have easily won Game 1, but the Kings didn't get home-court advantage by accident. The Warriors' horrendous road record is hard to explain, but it did happen. I'll keep riding the disrespected Kings in Game 2.
