NBA: Sacramento Kings VS Phoenix Suns Pick and Predictions 02/14/2023

Game: 9:10 PM ET,  Tuesday, February 14th, 2023

Venue:  Footprint Center, Phoenix, Arizona

TV:  NBA League Pass

Kings: 32-24, 3rd place Western Conference

Suns: 31-27, 4th place Western Conference

A Western Conference matchup of the 3rd and 4th place teams.  But it is so much more than that.  It essentially is the Kings last chance to get a win off the Phoenix Suns before the SF Kevin Durant joins the team as an active player.  It is also Suns players TJ Warren and Torrey Craig first chance to try and fill the shoes of the departed Suns player SF Miles Bridges.  The Suns have ruled Durant OUT until after the all-star break.. Good news for the Kings, but an ominous cloud on the Kings chances to get through the West.  The Kings are better than anyone thought they could be 18 months ago when they traded for Domantas Sabonis and everything is smiles in Sacramento… Still the Suns are repairing every problem they have had.. Chris Paul has returned from injury, Devin Booker has returned from injury, Deandre Ayton has been re-energized by the new addition to his team… and 30 points a game is about to join a team that has little problems scoring already.  The great betting opportunity here is in knowing that Durant will not be playing and Bridges is gone.  So the matchup to watch is rookie Kings PF Keegan Murray against Warren and/or Craig… Let’s take a look at the very recent outcomes.

The Sacramento Kings have won 5 of their last 10 games and are treading water in 3rd place in the West.  They went only 4-6 ATS during that stretch.  They won their last game against the Dallas Mavericks (also a win ATS, as predicted here) 133-128 in overtime.  The Kings became the first team to beat the Mavericks with their power duo of Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic. In the win the Kings got 36 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists from PG De’Aaron Fox (who wanted to not be overlooked in the debut of Irving and Doncic), 22 points & 14 rebounds from C Domantas Sabonis, and 22 points from bench player SG/SF Terence Davis.  PF Keegan Murray had a rough game with only 5 points and really bad 1 of 5 shooting from the field.  It’s very odd that this team didn’t find a trade for C Richaun Holmes and is now giving him a heaping helping of DNP. 

The Phoenix Suns have won 7 of their last 10 games and are rising back up the standings after plummeting a few weeks ago.  Going 6-4 ATS.  They won their last game over the Indiana Pacers 117-104 .  The Suns had a well rounded attack with every starter in double figures… CP3 landed 19 points & 9 assists, C Deandre Ayton got 22 points & 11 rebounds… 21 points from SG Devin Booker, 17 points from guard Josh Okogie who was playing as a forward.  It all worked out.  Of course they were playing the Pacers, a team that seems content to keep falling in the East and get a shot at the NBA draft Lottery… ya know since their roster has no forwards and didn’t trade for any at the deadline?

BetMGM:  Point Spread: Suns -2.5, O/U 233.5

PointsBet: Point Spread: Suns -2.5, O/U 233.5

Fanduel: Point Spread: Suns -2.5, O/U 233.5

Kings: PG De’Aaron Fox, SG Kevin Huerter, SF Harrison Barnes, PF Keegan Murray, C Domantas Sabonis

Suns: PG Chris Paul, SG Devin Booker, SF Torrey Craig, PF TJ Warren, C Deandre Ayton

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The Kings are 1st in scoring with 119.6 points per game, 23rd in rebounds with 41.8 per game. On defense they rank 22nd in defense of scoring while allowing 117.1 points per game. The high scoring soft defense style works in the regular season… It always has.  It gets a lot of teams into the Playoffs, but their lack of defensive ability and their failure to get some at the trade deadline will haunt them in the postseason.

The Phoenix Suns are 22nd in scoring with 112.7 points per game, but that is a hard number to believe since it was built with Devin Booker missing six weeks and Chris Paul missing a month and those injuries overlapped quite a bit.  They rank 9th in rebounds with 44.1 per game.  On defense they are 5th while holding opponents to 111.3 points per game.  Basically the Suns numbers are a smokescreen… a fugazzi… With Kevin Durant joining the offensive numbers will go way up and with Miles Bridges departed the defensive numbers will be way out of whack as well…  So for the next month (at least) these averages should not sway your bet… since they belong to an entirely different team.

Our prediction for Tuesday, February 14th is…. Kings 130 - Suns 120

Bet on the Kings. Don’t expect the Suns to be very locked in two games away from the All-Star break.  They know they will have a better team next week… Almost every Sun gets medically evaluated after every game since they all have had injury absences that need monitoring… The mindset will be about Tomorrow and not about the 3rd place Kings.

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The Kings are 3-0 ATS versus Phoenix at Phoenix the last 3 seasons.

The Kings are 13-8 ATS as an underdog this season.

The Suns are 8-0 ATS versus division opponents this season.

Kings:  C Domantas Sabonis. Sabonis is the Kings best player in a long time. He is well rounded.  He fills a statline all the way across.  He causes wins. In a game like this he has to get off to a fast start because he will have the bigger, stronger and younger Deandre Ayton riding him all night.

Suns: SF TJ Warren.  TJ was a sudden revelation in the bubble a few years back.  Everyone all of a sudden realized he was a capable 20 point a game scorer… then he got hurt and has bounced around and not been a sensation since.  Now is TJ’s time to try it again. With Miles Bridges gone and Kevin Durant coming in?... TJ has a 2-game window to make something happen.

Kings: Mike “lovin’ the game” Brown

Suns