Tip-off: Monday, 10:00 p.m. ET
Line: Sacramento -4.0

The Kings will be looking to prevent a five-game losing streak when they host the Bucks on Monday.

Both the Bucks and the Kings are really struggling entering Monday night’s meeting in Sacramento. Milwaukee lost 107-103 as a one-point home favorite against Miami on Friday night and has now lost two straight games and four of the past five both SU and ATS. The Bucks are not playing well offensively, averaging just 98.0 PPG over the past five contests. They will need to start putting up more points or they’ll continue to struggle in a league with a ton of talented offensive teams. The Kings, meanwhile, have been even worse defensively than the Bucks have been offensively. Sacramento has lost four straight games and the team allowed 119.0 PPG over the course of the losing streak. If the Kings do not turn things around on that end of the floor then they will take themselves out of contention for the eighth seed in the Western Conference. These two teams met in Milwaukee on Nov. 25 and the Kings won that game 129-118 as 4.5-point road underdogs. Sacramento improved to 3-2 SU and 4-1 ATS versus Milwaukee over the past three seasons with that win-and-cover. One thing that bodes well for the Bucks in this game is the fact that the team is 40-29 ATS versus teams averaging 53 or more RPG on the year over the past three seasons. SG O.J. Mayo (Hamstring) and PF John Henson (Back) are expected to miss this game for the Bucks, who are already without PG Greivis Vasquez (Ankle) for the next couple of months. For the Kings, C DeMarcus Cousins (Ankle), SG Ben McLemore (Wrist) and SG Marco Belinelli (Stomach) are all listed as questionable.

The Bucks have lost two straight games and will now be looking to get back into the win column against a struggling Kings team. One guy that will be relied on heavily in this one is C Greg Monroe (16.4 PPG, 9.6 RPG, 2.3 APG). Monroe has played extremely well for Milwaukee recently and is averaging 21.8 PPG, 8.6 RPG and 1.2 BPG over the past five games. The Kings could be playing this one without DeMarcus Cousins and if that’s the case then Monroe will really need to dominate for the Bucks. Either way the team needs him to come through with a big offensive performance and that should not be too difficult considering the way the Kings play defense. Another guy that should excel against this Kings team is SG Khris Middleton (17.7 PPG, 4.0 APG, 3.7 RPG, 1.2 SPG). Middleton had just nine points against the Heat on Friday, but he has been scoring the ball effectively for Milwaukee all season. Sacramento does not guard opposing wing players very well and Middleton’s blend of length and skill should allow him to get plenty of good looks at the basket on Monday.

The Kings have lost four straight games and things are not likely to get much better if C DeMarcus Cousins (27.0 PPG, 11.3 RPG, 2.8 APG, 1.4 BPG, 1.3 SPG) has to miss any time. Cousins is averaging 32.8 PPG, 10.8 RPG, 3.4 APG and 1.8 BPG over the past five games. He is one of the only players on this Sacramento team that is capable of creating his own shot and the team does not play good enough defense to make up for his lack of scoring. PG Rajon Rondo (11.8 PPG, 11.8 APG, 6.5 RPG, 1.7 SPG) is going to need to be a bit more aggressive as a scorer if Cousins does miss time. Rondo has played very well for Sacramento over the past five games, averaging 13.0 PPG, 12.8 APG and 7.4 RPG over that span. Rondo is shooting 40% from the outside in those games and has shown a lot more confidence recently. He is quicker than the Bucks’ guards and would be wise to attack the rim more often in this game. SF Rudy Gay (18.0 PPG, 6.9 RPG) will also need to play well for Sacramento in this one. Gay is a very good scorer and will have even more of a green light to shoot if Cousins is out in this one. Gay had 21 points and seven rebounds in 38 minutes against the Grizzlies on Saturday. He also happened to have scored 36 points the last time he faced this Bucks team.