The Sacramento Kings (45-35) find themselves in a three-way tie with the Lakers and Warriors for the Western Conference's eighth seed heading into their last two games.
On Friday night they will host the Phoenix Suns (47-33), who are in a seeding battle of their own as they hope to climb to the sixth seed to avoid the play-in tournament.
Can De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis lift the Kings over Kevin Durant and the Suns?
Continue reading for free NBA picks in my Suns vs. Kings predictions for Friday, April 12th.
Suns vs Kings predictions
My best bet
Suns -4.5 (-110 at FanDuel)
My analysis
The importance of heading into the play-in tournament holding the eighth seed as opposed to the ninth or tenth seed is not lost upon the Sacramento Kings, Los Angeles Lakers, and Golden State Warriors. Having the former requires two consecutive losses to lose a spot in the playoffs whereas the latter requires two consecutive wins to make the playoffs.
The Kings currently possess the eighth seed given that they have the tiebreaker over the Lakers and Warriors, but will need to win on Friday night against the Phoenix Suns to give themselves the best chance of holding onto their spot.
And although these teams have split the four games they've played this season, the Suns have convincingly been the better team in those games. They've not only won the last two, but their first loss came without Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal and the second loss came without Beal.
In the Suns' win in mid-January, De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis combined for 54 points and 17 points and they still fell short. And in the Suns' second win in mid-February, they combined for 75 points and 18 assists.
Making matters worse is the absence of Kevin Huerter now, who the Kings' have struggled without ever since his season-ending injury. They've gone 5-7 since then, and have gone 3-6 in their last nine.
Suns vs Kings same-game parlay (SGP)
Suns -5
Jusuf Nurkic Under 10.5 points
Domantas Sabonis Over 8.5 assists
One place to look when building out a same-game parlay for this matchup is the Kings' ability to disrupt opposing centers. Their 19.5 points allowed per game to the position is the league's best mark, and the gap between them and the second-best mark is the same-sized gap between the second- and fifth-best marks.
That could mean a tough night for Jusuf Nurkic, who has managed just ten and nine points in his last two games against the Kings.
On the other side of that matchup, the Suns allow opposing centers to rack up the fourth-most assists per game. Sabonis has managed to rack up 11, 12, and 12 assists in his last three games against the Suns.
Learn how to bet a same-game parlay with these helpful tips and strategies.
Suns vs Kings odds
Suns vs Kings live odds
Suns vs Kings opening odds
- Spread: Phoenix -5 | Sacramento +5
- Moneyline: Phoenix -190 | Sacramento +170
- Over/Under: Over 225.5 | Under 225.5
Suns vs Kings spread and Over/Under analysis
- The Suns have gone just 34-44-2 against the spread this year, good for the league's fifth-worst cover rate of the season at 43.6%. They have, however, fared noticeably better on the road in that regard at 18-20-1 (47.4%)
- Sacramento has been nearly even on spreads this year, having gone 40-39-1 this year (50.6%). They find themselves as a home underdog for just the fifth time this season and have split the previous four games ATS.
- The Suns have gone Under the total in four of their last five, but on totals at or below tonight's total of 224 and they have gone 10-6 to the Over.
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Sacramento has gone 41-36-3 to the Under this year, good for the tenth-highest rate of Unders on the season. Their home-away splits on totals are staggering, however, as they have gone 22-16-1 to the Over this year.
Suns vs Kings trend
Sacramento has gone 14-4 to the Under in their last 18. Find more NBA betting trends for Suns vs. Kings.
Suns vs Kings game info
| Location: | Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, CA |
| Date: | Friday, 4-12-2024 |
| Tip-off: | 10:30 p.m. ET |
| TV: | NBCSCA, Arizona's Family 3TV / Arizona's Family Sports |
Suns vs Kings latest injuries
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