The final weekend of the NBA’s regular season is here and tonight we have a matchup between two Western Conference teams that could meet in the play-in tournament as the Phoenix Suns visit the Sacramento Kings. Tipoff is set for 10:30 p.m. ET on NBA TV.
Phoenix (47-33) is currently the No. 7 seed in the West and can at least clinch the spot with a win tonight. However, a loss + a Pelicans win would officially eliminate the Suns from contention for the six-seed, locking them into the play-in tournament. Sacramento (45-35) is already play-in tournament bound and can land anywhere from 7-9 by the end of the weekend. The Kings can guarantee themselves at least the eight-seed with a win + Warriors/Lakers losses tonight, but a loss here would eliminate them from seven-seed contention.
On the injury front, Malik Monk (knee) remains out for the Kings.
Phoenix enters the game as a 5-point favorite at DraftKings Sportsbook, accompanied by a total of 224. The Suns are listed as a -205 moneyline favorite, making the Kings a +170 underdog.
Suns vs. Kings, 10:30 p.m. ET
Pick ATS: Kings +5
Both of these squads are fighting for favorable positioning in the West standings and in Phoenix’s case, it is trying to keep its hopes of avoiding the play-in tournament alive. The Suns are 10-14-1 against the spread as a road favorite this season and will be walking into a tough environment that is the Golden 1 Center. Even with Monk still out, I think the Kings can at the very least make this a tight ballgame and cover.
Over/Under: Under 224
Both teams have kept opponent point totals relatively low as of late as they’ve limited foes to less than 109 points over their last 10 games. Sacramento in particular is still trying to figure some things out on the fly on its offensive end as Monk’s injury has dealt a blow to its production. I’ll lean toward the under in this one.