The 2025-26 NBA season heads into Week 3 with the Sacramento Kings looking to make up some ground in the talent-rich Pacific Division. Meanwhile, their opponents on Monday night, the Denver Nuggets, aim to elevate their defense to match their potent offense. The Kings and Nuggets meet tonight, Monday, November 3, at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado.
The Kings have started the 2024-25 NBA season with a 2-4 record, putting them in last place in the Western Conference’s Pacific Division. Sacramento ended a three-game losing skid on Saturday night when they defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 135-133 on the road. Zach LaVine had 31 points, and DeMar DeRozan scored 29 in that contest. The Nuggets have a 3-2 record to open the year. The club saw a three-game winning streak end on Saturday night when they fell to the Portland Trail Blazers after Portland’s Jerami Grant sank two free throws with 1.4 seconds left in the game. Jamal Murray had 22 points in the loss, while Nikola Jokic put up 21.
The Kings and Nuggets met four times last season. Denver won each of those games by an average of 7.5 points. The teams averaged 201.5 points per game.
| Teams |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sacramento Kings | +437 | +425 | +425 |
| Denver Nuggets | -585 | -600 | -600 |
| Sacremento +11.5 | -112 | -105 | -110 |
| Denver -11.5 | -108 | -115 | -110 |
| Over 236.5 Points | -105 | -110 | -105 |
| Under 236.5 Points | -115 | -110 | -115 |
The Sacramento Kings finished the 2024-25 season with a 40-42 record. The team bowed out of the postseason with a loss to the Dallas Mavericks in the play-in game. DeMar DeRozan said of the year, “probably the most I’ve been through in my 16-year career.” The Kings had a coaching change in mid-season when Doug Christie replaced Mike Brown and saw the team trade De’Aaron Fox to San Antonio. Fox was averaging 25 points per game. The team picked up Zach LaVine, who averaged 22.4 points per game for the Kings.
With Christie now the full-time head coach and LaVine integrated into the lineup, the Kings are looking for a better year in 2025-26.
Things have not gone well for the team this year, especially on defense, where they are missing Keegan Murray, who is expected to be out for most of this month. The Kings have a 71.2 percent defensive rebounding percentage and a 20.2 percent offensive rebounding percentage, which are near the bottom of each category. With Murray out, Christie has been unable to find a suitable replacement for him.
LaVine is leading the team with 29.5 points per game. Domantas Sabonis has 13.6 rebounds. Dennis Schroder has 6.5 assists, and Keon Ellis has 1.8 steals.
Russell Westbrook, who joined the team after spending last season in Denver, has started two games this year. He is averaging 26.0 minutes, 11.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game.
The 2022-23 NBA champs, the Denver Nuggets, finished the 2024-25 season with the fourth-best record in the West (50-32). The Nuggets then took the Thunder to seven games in the conference semifinals. That playoff run came after the team fired coach Michael Malone and general manager Calvin Booth with three games remaining in the regular season. New head coach David Adelman now has a full season to try to get the Nuggets back to the top in the West.
The Nuggets are based around the play of Nikola Jokić, who became the third NBA player to average a triple-double over a season. The three-time NBA MVP finished the 2024-25 season with averages of 29.6 points, 12.7 rebounds, and 10.2 assists per game. Jokic might not have won the MVP for the year, but he finished in the top two in voting for the fifth-straight year.
The one significant change the Nuggets made to their roster was trading Michael Porter Jr. to the Brooklyn Nets for Cameron Johnson. The 29-year-old Johnson had a career high in points (18.8), assists (3.4), field goal percentage (47.5), and minutes (31.6) last year in Brooklyn. He has only averaged 8.2 points per game with Denver.
Christian Braun made a jump last year for Denver, improving from 7.3 to 15.4 points per game. The team will look for him to make some incremental advances in 2025-26. He has started the season with 11 points per game.
The big surprise for Denver has been Jamal Murray, who leads the team in points (26). He had a career-high last year with 21.4. This year might be his breakout season. Jokic leads the club in rebounds (14.4), assists (10.8), steals (1.8), and minutes. (33.8).
The Kings defensive problems will hurt them in Denver. Look for the potent offense of the Nuggets o carry the day.
The betting pick is for the Denver Nuggets to beat the Sacramento Kings.
With the teams not coming close to the over in their past four meetings, look for the Kings and Nuggets to combine for fewer than 237.5 points in tonight’s NBA Western Conference matchup.
The betting pick is the under for Monday’s Kings vs. Nuggets contest.
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