UNCHARTED WATERS
How Houston Rockets dominant win over Kings has them in an unfamiliar place
Nov 7, 2023, 9:50 am
UNCHARTED WATERS
HOUSTON (AP) — Alperen Sengun had 17 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds and Jalen Green scored 23 points in the Houston Rockets’ 122-97 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Monday night.
The Rockets have won three straight to improve to 3-3. They are .500 for the first time since Oct. 22, 2021, when they started the 2021-22 season 1-1.
Sengun fell just two rebounds shy of his third career triple-double, doing so in just 26 minutes and without playing in the fourth quarter.
“We’re playing like animals out there right now,” Sengun said. “Everyone is tough, physical, everyone is helping each other. Nobody is getting easy points anymore. We need to keep it up all year.”
Houston shot 48.4% from 3, making 15 of 31. Green was 3 of 5 from beyond the arc and made 10 of 12 free throws.
“I loved our aggressiveness at the start,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said. “They came out with some more physicality and tried to increase their pressure, and we handled it well and kind of threw it back at them. Loved everything we did, coming out and taking the fight, taking the initial hit and responding well.”
Keon Ellis scored 15 points off the bench to lead the Kings with star De’Aaron Fox out for a third straight game because of a sprained right ankle.
Kevin Huerter scored 13 points, Keegan Murray had 12 points, and Domantas Sabonis added eight points and eight rebounds, well below the league-leading 14.2 rebounds per game that he entered Monday averaging.
Houston outrebounded Sacramento 39-34.
“Give Houston credit — they kicked our behind, starting with me,” Kings coach Mike Brown said. “They kicked my behind and on down the line. They came to play tonight. They punched us in the mouth, and we did not respond. It was evident.”
The Kings are 0-3 without Fox, who averaged 31.3 points in his three games before getting hurt. Fox had a light shootaround session before the game.
“The sense of urgency is there — we don’t ever want to get too far behind, but there’s a lot of basketball left,” Brown said. “We’re facing some adversity, and I’m intrigued to see how we handle it.”
Kings: Host Portland on Wednesday night.
Rockets: Host the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night.
The Dodgers have spent a lot of money hoping to win their second straight World Series and bettors are putting their cash on Los Angeles.
BetMGM Sportsbook has taken 37.8% of its futures money on the Dodgers, which far exceeds its previous high of 21.7% of money that was placed on the 2022 New York Mets. It's also far ahead of this year's Mets, who at 9.4% are receiving the second-highest amount of the handle. The New York Yankees are third at 7.7%.
The Dodgers also lead in betting tickets at 17.5%, with the Mets next at 8.7% and the Philadelphia Phillies at 8.6%.
Opening day for most teams is Thursday.
“It's all Dodgers money,” BetMGM trading manager Halvor Egeland said. “That's somewhat frequent when it comes to the favorites. Favorites are going to take most of the money, but this is a level we don't typically see. ... It's a little bit of a hole liability wise, which is a little out of the norm for a favorite."
That's because sportsbooks typically set a high enough price in anticipation for the rush of money, but not to this level. The Dodgers, who already are 2-0 after a two-game series against the Chicago Cubs in Tokyo, are +240 at BetMGM.
The next closest are the Yankees and Atlanta Braves at +900 each.
DraftKings Sportsbook race and sports operations director Johnny Avello said the Dodgers are popular, but the futures money is fairly well spread out. LA is +290 at DraftKings and the Braves are next at +750 and the Yankees at +850.
“They've got a complete team,” Avello said of the Dodgers. “Will they win it all again? I don't know. Sometimes at the end of the year, things just need to go your way. I don't care how good you are.”
The Mets are challenging the Dodgers on spending, and the club made a splashy move by signing Juan Soto to a record $765 million, 15-year contract.
Bettors are banking on that aggressiveness to help the Mets win their first World Series title since 1986.
The Mets are listed at +1200 at BetMGM and DraftKings.
“If the Mets start off good, they're going to continue to take money,” Avello said. “If they don't start off good and we raise their odds, they're going to continue to take money. They're going to be bet all year long.”
The Athletics went 32-32 after the All-Star break and then broke their recent practice and invested money in major league payroll.
There are believers in the A's, who are about to play their first of at least three seasons at a Triple-A ballpark in West Sacramento, California, before an anticipated move to Las Vegas,
The A's were bet up from a win total at BetMGM of 70 1/2 to 72 1/2, though the number settled back down to 71 1/2.
“We may end up going back there,” Egeland said of 72 1/2. “It seemed like as soon as we went up with the A's, there's some interest. Even in the division, we had some interest there on the A's, which is kind of surprising for the amount of money they spend. But I do think people like the young talent and pitchers like Mason Miller.”
Terry Francona was hired for another reclamation project, the Reds hoping he will find similar success in Cincinnati that he had with Boston and Cleveland.
“We are seeing some money on them to win it all,” Avello said. “You get a really good price. They’re projected to win around 78, 79 games or so. And this guy’s a winner. He finds ways to make teams that are average much better, so that’s why I think bettors are betting the Reds to win it all.”
The Reds, who have a core of young players led by Elly De La Cruz, are +8000 at BetMGM and +9000 at DraftKings.
Injuries have limited Los Angeles Angels slugger Mike Trout, once the game's most complete player, to 82 or fewer games three of the past four seasons.
He is moving from center to right field with the idea that covering less ground in the outfield might help him stay healthy.
Trout is the +300 favorite at BetMGM to be selected AL Comeback Player of the Year.
“People are loving that one,” Egeland said. “It's not an award that usually gets a ton of handle, but when you have someone like Trout available, that's where most of the money is going to go.”