Golden State Warriors @ Sacramento Kings
PICK: Sacramento Kings

Golden State is heading quickly towards ‘we’ve quit’ territory when they leave the friendly confines of Oracle Arena. Don Nelson’s squad has been playing out the string since the All Star break, but they’ve won 11 of their last 15 at home, averaging 120 points per game in the process. But when we take the Warriors out of Oakland, we’re looking at a 1-11 SU record in their last dozen tries, including ugly losses at Milwaukee and even at the LA Clippers.

The Warriors have shut down their primary veteran presence, swingman Stephen Jackson, out for the year following toe surgery. Second half sparkplug Monta Ellis isn't going to play today. Center Andris Biedrins hasn’t been healthy in months – don’t expect him to be anywhere near 100% today if he takes the court. Forward Brandon Wright is sitting with a bad shoulder while guard Marco Bellinelli is sitting with a bad ankle. And let’s not forget about Corey Maggette, unable to suit up with recurring concussion issues. That’s a pretty hefty injury list for a pretty downtrodden team to begin with.

The Warriors are pretty much beaten down at this stage of the season, a hard team to bet on in any contest that they’ll need to win in order to cover the pointspread. Golden State has already lost twice to the Kings this year, one of the few teams that Sacramento actually has confidence against. Sacramento is continuing to fight, showing up for recent wins against the Suns, Knicks, Nuggets, Clippers and Grizzlies. Like Golden State, all five of those teams don’t play much defense… 2* Take Sacramento.