The Washington Wizards, losers of nine straight, and the Sacramento Kings, winners of eight of their last nine, could not be headed in more opposite directions. My Wizards vs. Kings predictions think the home team should be able to play past the -17 spread for tonight.

Continue reading for free NBA picks for Sunday, January 19.

Wizards vs Kings prediction

My best bet
Kings -17 (-110 at bet365)

My analysis

When the Sacramento Kings abruptly fired Mike Brown, maybe a handful of optimists thought there would be some immediate improvement morale-wise. But no one would have expected them to rattle off eight wins in their next nine games.

And the results haven’t been fool’s gold. Sacramento has ranked as the fourth-best team by net rating in that span, which includes the fifth-best offensive rating and eighth-best defensive rating.

For comparison, they ranked 14th in net rating, eighth in offensive rating, and 17th in defensive rating prior to Brown’s firing.

On Sunday night, they will host the six-win Washington Wizards, who are coming off a pair of respectably competitive games against the Warriors (122-114) and Suns (130-123), two teams that share the same 21-20 record the Kings have.

Despite those respectable performances against seemingly similar-caliber teams, the Wizards should struggle much more against the Kings due to their defensive improvement as of late.

The Warriors and Suns rank 21st and 24th, respectively, in defensive rating in the last 30 days. They gave up the two highest point totals the Wizards have managed in their last eight games.

A better representation of tonight’s matchup is the two games before those two, where the Wizards lost by 14 to the Timberwolves (seventh in defensive rating on the year) and by 41 to the Thunder (first).

Wizards vs Kings same-game parlay

Kings -17

Alex Sarr Under 11.5 points

De’Aaron Fox Over 25.5 points

The Kings’ 20.4 points allowed to centers per game this year is good for the seventh-lowest average this season, which could mean a long night for rookie Alex Sarr.

Sarr has also failed to go over his Sunday night prop total of 11.5 in four of his last six, making it an even more enticing leg to include.

But on the flip side, we should expect DeAaron Fox to stuff the stat sheet, especially in the points category.

Washington’s 26.9 points allowed to point guards per game is the worst mark on the season, and the gap between them and the second-worst team is as large as the second-worst and the fifth-worst.

Learn how to bet a same-game parlay with these helpful tips and strategies.

Wizards vs Kings odds

Wizards vs Kings live odds

Wizards vs Kings opening odds

• Spread: Washington +16.5 | Sacramento -16.5
• Moneyline: Washington +940 | Sacramento -1550
• Over/Under: Over 235 | Under 235

Odds courtesy of bet365

Wizards vs Kings spread and Over/Under analysis

• Washington has not just struggled in the win column, but also against the spread. Their 16-22-2 record ATS is good for the sixth-worst this year.
• The Wizards are 22-18 to the Over this year, good for the 10th-highest rate this year.
• The Kings have slightly favored Overs this year at 21-18-2, but have gone Over in seven of their last eight games.

Wizards vs Kings trend

The Wizards have only hit the moneyline in 14 of their last 82 games (-29.20 Units / -34% ROI). Find more NBA betting trends for Wizards vs. Kings.

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