A date with the Oklahoma City Thunder awaits the winner of Friday's play-in game between the Sacramento Kings and New Orleans Pelicans.

The pregame narrative: Someone must step up for New Orleans with Zion Williamson sidelined and I believe that will be Brandon Ingram. This is practically a pick'em and I'll side with the home team in a tight game.

Check out these Kings vs. Pelicans picks for their play-in tournament matchup on April 19.

Kings vs. Pelicans picks

Best Bet: Ingram over 29.5 PRA (-121)

Ingram was awful on Tuesday night, full stop.

He scored just 11 points on 4-of-12 shooting in 25 minutes of play against the Los Angeles Lakers.

But that was his second game back from injury and I expect the small forward to be much more involved against Sacramento. If not by design, then by necessity.

Williamson averaged 33.7 PRA this year and scored a game-high 40 points against the Lakers before exiting with a hamstring injury. That type of production will be difficult to replace, but Ingram can fill the basket, dish the rock, and clean the glass.

He averaged 21 points, 5.1 rebounds and 5.8 assists in 62 games before getting injured, clearing this line 39 times (62.9%).

That includes three outings against the Kings. In two of those meetings, he went over this mark on points alone.

Ingram will likely play a blend of the 3/4 positions on Friday. Sacramento allows the eighth-most points per game to small forwards and the fifth-most points per game to power forwards, per Fantasy Pros.

Key stat: Ingram averaged 24.8 points, 5.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists (34.8 PRA) versus the Kings this year.

Quick pick

Pelicans moneyline (-103): Backing the Pels without Zion might seem scary but New Orleans isn't the only team dealing with injuries.

Sacramento is without Malik Monk and Kevin Huerter. That duo combined to average 25.6 points on 21.2 field goal attempts per game this season.

The Kings didn't have much of an issue getting past the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday but Monk and Huerter's absence should be felt on Friday.

The Pelicans are one of the best teams at defending the 3-ball and that duo takes the third and fourth most 3-point attempts per game. Cashing in on triples should be a tough task for Sacramento and I don't trust Damontis Sabonis to have a huge night in the paint.

New Orleans allows the fifth-fewest paint points per game.

The Pelicans have also dominated the Kings recently, winning each of the past five meetings with four of those coming by double-digits.

On January 7, New Orleans blew out Sacramento, 133-100, in a game where Williamson didn't play.

Picks as of 9:32 a.m. on 04/18/2024.