New Orleans Pelicans vs Sacramento Kings Prediction and Preview
Two winless Western Conference sides meet in New Orleans. Our preview covers form, injuries, the back-to-back and what the numbers say before Friday's tip-off.
The New Orleans Pelicans host the Sacramento Kings in the NBA early on Friday 30 October, with tip-off at 00:00 UK time. Both teams are searching for a first win of the 2026-27 season, so there is more at stake than the early date suggests.
Below we look at form, the standings, injury news and what the season numbers show. Betting carries risk, and nothing here is a guarantee of any outcome.
Pelicans and Kings form and standings
New Orleans sit 14th in the Western Conference and Sacramento 15th, with the standings showing W0-L4 for both. The Pelicans have scored 465 points and conceded 488, a gap of 23. The Kings have scored 431 and conceded 502, a gap of 71.
Recent results tell a similar story. The Kings have lost their last five this season, including a 130-103 defeat at San Antonio on 27 October. The Pelicans' last five read LLLLW, and one of those losses was a narrow 120-119 defeat at Utah on 23 October, when Zion Williamson scored 23.
Injuries and team news for Pelicans vs Kings
Sacramento are short of players. ESPN's injury listing for 29 October shows Dylan Cardwell (calf) and Keegan Murray (ankle) out until around 6 November, and Maxime Raynaud (knee) until around 10 November. Ben Simmons is listed with an Achilles designation. Murray's status for this game was not confirmed in the sources we checked.
New Orleans will be without Yves Missi, who has a knee problem and an estimated return of 2 November. Jordan Poole is a game-time decision with an ankle issue, so check the latest team news close to tip-off. The Pelicans also played at home against Denver on 28 October, which makes this probably a back-to-back for them.
Season numbers: home, away and totals
The Pelicans have played eight games. At home they score 106.0 and concede 111.0 per game, with a win rate of 0.333. On the road they have scored 117.8 and conceded 119.2.
The Kings have played nine games and have not won at home or away. They average 108.3 points at home and 102.4 away, and concede 122.0 and 120.4 respectively. The two sides have no recent head-to-head games on record.
Bet365 has the Pelicans as favourites on the moneyline at 1.50, with Sacramento at 2.65. The Asian handicap is set at 5.5 points and the total at around 237.5 to 238.5. Those are market prices, not our view.
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