NBA Play-In Tournament: Kings vs. Pelicans prediction, odds, pick for Friday 4/19

Kings vs. Pelicans Odds

Friday, April 19, 9:30 p.m. ET, TNT

Odds via FanDuel. Get up-to-the-minute NBA odds here.

Sacramento Kings

The Sacramento Kings still have a pulse! The Kings enter Friday's Play-In Tournament game on a bit of a high after knocking off the Golden State Warriors, who beat them in a seven-game first-round series last year. The Kings are also the favorite despite being the road team, having taken a lot of money and steam since the open with the news that Zion Williamson would be out for the Pelicans.

I want to remind everyone that while the signs show the Kings may make the playoffs in back-to-back years, they are still missing Malik Monk and Kevin Huerter, both of whom gave De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis relief valves and have helped the offense so much with their shooting. Without these two, the Kings struggled down the stretch.

I would rather be missing role players than my stars, and the Kings will have their engine-drivers going on Friday night – which we cannot say for the Pelicans.

New Orleans Pelicans

Sadly, the story for the Pelicans in their biggest game of the season yet again becomes the health of Williamson, their franchise player. While playing the best game of his career against the Lakers on Tuesday and scoring 40 points, Williamson grimaced and walked off with a hamstring issue.

First reports indicated he would be reevaluated in two weeks, but he is absolutely out for this game and the start of any potential next series. So now the Pels will have to rely on CJ McCollum to step up in this game. He has done that plenty but has not played great recently. Brandon Ingram has only recently returned to the lineup but has not looked like himself.

The role players will also have to shine tonight, whether that is Jonas Valanciunas, Trey Murphy III, Herb Jones or someone else — the secret star for the Pelicans may be their depth.

Kings vs. Pelicans

Betting Pick & Prediction

The sharpest side of the market has been the under, which has moved from 218.5 at open down to 210. That is related to Williamson's absence plus sharp action.

The absences of Monk and Huerter also hamper the Kings offense, but ultimately, I trust Fox and Sabonis to have the final scoring punch to get this done, and the low spread of only -1 is still playable.

The pricing value difference between grabbing a moneyline at -115 or a -1 spread at -110 sasys to play the spread and pay less vig! The one-point win is not a common NBA outcome, and in a game like this where it's win or go home, I expect late fouling to create a bigger ending point differential.

Pick: Kings -1