The Phoenix Suns look to climb back out of the Western Conference Play-In Tournament as they head on the road to face the Sacramento Kings on Friday night. The Suns (47-33) currently maintain the Western Conference's No. 7 seed and trail New Orleans by one game for the No. 6 seed with two to play. The Kings (45-35) are tied for the No. 8 seed with the Lakers and Warriors and are locked in to at least one game in the Play-In Tournament next week. Sacramento won the first two meetings in 2023-24, while Phoenix has won the last two.
Tipoff is set for 10:30 p.m. ET on Friday at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento. The Suns are favored by 5 points in the latest Suns vs. Kings odds, while the over/under is 224 points, per SportsLine consensus. Before entering any Kings vs. Suns picks, you'll want to see the NBA predictions from the model at SportsLine.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times and has returned well over $10,000 in profit for $100 players on its top-rated NBA picks over the past five-plus seasons. The model enters Week 25 of the 2023-24 NBA season on a sizzling 83-58 roll on all top-rated NBA picks this season, returning more than $2,200. Anyone following it has seen huge returns.
The model has set its sights on Suns vs. Kings. You can head to SportsLine to see its picks. Here are several NBA betting lines for the game:
- Suns vs. Kings spread: Suns -5
- Suns vs. Kings over/under: 224 points
- Suns vs. Kings money line: Suns -200, Kings +168
- Suns vs. Kings picks: See picks here
Why the Suns can cover
Phoenix lost the final two home games on its regular season schedule against New Orleans and the LA Clippers, putting the Suns in an unenviable position heading into this weekend. A bounce-back win over the Clippers on Wednesday, paired with Thursday night's Pelicans victory in Sacramento puts Phoenix one game back of New Orleans for the final non-Play-In Tournament playoff spot. Star guard Devin Booker bounced back from arguably the worst performance of his career on Tuesday (1 for 11 shooting) with a 13 of 24 shooting, 37 point performance against the Clippers the following night.
Against Sacramento this season, forward Kevin Durant is averaging 27.7 points and 7.7 rebounds per game, which is slightly above his season averages of 27.2 PPG and 6.7 RPG. Despite his team going 1-2 in the last three games, guard Bradley Beal has shown his value as the team's No. 3 star, scoring 78 points (26 PPG). Against a tough Kings team, the Suns will need their top three stars to show out tonight. See which team to pick here.
Why the Kings can cover
Sacramento will go as far as its two stars, guard De'Aaron Fox and center Domantas Sabonis can take it. Fox has torched Phoenix this season, averaging 32.5 points per game, well above his season average of 26.7 PPG. In four of his last five games this month, Fox has scored 29 or more points, helping make up for the loss of guard Malik Monk, who likely wouldn't return until at least the second round of the playoffs. Fox's backup is guard Davion Mitchell, who has scored double-digit points in four of his last six games and should be a factor once again tonight.
Sabonis has proven himself to be one of the league's best centers, averaging 19.4 points, 13.7 rebounds and 8.2 assists nightly. Against Phoenix, he is averaging a triple double this season, 24.8 / 14.5 / 10.0. Since November, in more than 60 games played, Sabonis has only failed to achieve 10 or more rebounds one time. He will be a handful for Phoenix's front line and should help keep Sacramento within striking distance tonight. See which team to pick here.
How to make Suns vs. Kings picks
The model has simulated Phoenix vs. Sacramento 10,000 times and the results are in. The model is leaning Over, and it also says one side of the spread is the better value. You can only see the pick at SportsLine.
So who wins Suns vs. Kings, and which side of the spread is the better value? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Suns vs. Kings spread you need to jump on, all from the model on a 83-58 roll on top-rated NBA picks this season, and find out.
