NBA Odds, Picks | Kings vs Suns Betting Preview

Kings vs. Suns Odds

The Sacramento Kings hit the road on Tuesday night when they travel to Phoenix to take on the Suns.

Sacramento enters this matchup with a 32-24 record, good enough for the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference. Phoenix is in a similar position, coming into this game with a 31-27 record and just 2.5 games back of the Kings in the standings.

Both Sacramento and Phoenix find themselves in playoff position, but the tightly contested Western Conference makes every matchup at this stage of the season a crucial one. Here are the odds and prediction for the matchup between the Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Suns.

Sacramento Kings

The Kings stayed relatively quiet astthe trade deadline last week, and given the current state of this roster that decision will more likely than not be the correct one.

The Kings own a 117.5 Offensive Rating this season, surpassing the Denver Nuggets as the No. 1 offense in the NBA after two solid performances against Dallas over the weekend.

That level of firepower has been on full display during Sacramento's last four games, a span of time in which we have seen the Kings' Offensive Rating rise to 127.3. The nearly 10 point increase is largely due to the fact that the Kings are shooting 53.3% from the floor in those four games, doing most of their damage on the interior, where they are averaging 62 points per game.

However, the Kings are still vulnerable on the defensive end of the floor, an area of their game that failed to be addressed at the deadline. That vulnerability has caused Sacramento to surrender an average of 126.8 points per game in its last five matchups.

There is no doubt that the Kings can light it up on the offensive end, but Sacramento's opponents are often in a position to do the same.

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Phoenix Suns

The Phoenix Suns made perhaps the largest move at the trade deadline by trading for Kevin Durant. The Suns were already going to be a contender in the West, but the addition of Durant may be what sends this team to the top.

Durant will not be in the lineup for this matchup, but luckily for the Suns, Devin Booker is back to full strength. In theory, that should give this offense much more of a presence on the offensive end than we have seen in the last month and a half.

Booker re-aggravated a groin injury on Christmas Day against Denver, sidelining him for several weeks. In his absence Phoenix went 10-11 and posted the NBA's worst Offensive Rating (109.4).

However, Booker does appear to be on a minutes restriction, averaging 25 minutes per game since his return. That complicates Phoenix's offense even more as its best scorer is playing a very limited role, which is why the Suns' Offensive Rating has only risen to 109.8 with Booker back in the lineup.

Kings-Suns Pick

Without having Durant on the floor, the Suns are more limited in what can be accomplished on the offensive end. Phoenix was forced to send Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson to Brooklyn in the Durant trade, two guys who averaged double-digit points per game.

That scoring output will be replaced with Durant in the lineup, but until that happens and Booker gets his restrictions removed, the Suns will likely continue to see a lower offensive output.

Sacramento does not pose much of a threat on the defensive end, but its scoring talent is up there with the best of the NBA and I believe that will allow the Kings to at the very least keep this game close. I like the spread down to +2.

Pick: Kings +3 (-110)