NBA - 805 Sacramento Kings @ 806 Phoenix Suns
Projected Line: Sacramento by 5 points
There is a big difference between these two lowly teams when it comes to competitiveness on this part of the season. Phoenix's tank job has already started on their last game at Utah yesterday, with the Suns not playing Goran Dragic even though he was healthy and ready to play. And it looks like this decision will be extended for today's game:
Dragic, who leads the Suns with 14.4 points and 7.2 assists per game, was told Tuesday night that he would not play Wednesday but did not know if he was playing Thursday night. Suns interim coach Lindsey Hunter said Dragic would not play either night to rest him, provide opportunities for rookies Kendall Marshall and Diante Garrett and prepare Dragic for his summer with Slovenia in the European Championship.
“If you ask me personally, I would play,” Dragic said. “That's why they make the decision.
“I can play. I’m in great shape. There’s always pain and bruises but you can always play through that.”
Of the timing with a game at Utah, Hunter said, “That’s not my concern.”
“If you’ve seen him after games, you see how he looks like he’s been boxing,” Hunter said. “He’s been through a lot this year, little nicks and bruises, but he just fights through it so I think it’s good for him.
“We know we’re not making the playoffs and he’s logged a lot of minutes and played phenomenal for us. He’s going to have a long summer playing ball so he has a lot to do. We’re aware of that and his well-being. We don’t want him to totally be run down.”
And what about Sacramento? Well, they've just defeated Golden State on the road last night! Prior to that game, they almost defeated Denver on the road, something that shows that even though the Kings are a young team and they are unfocused at times, they are still trying to win games. Sacramento in healthy and their second unit is actually decent in comparison to the other lowly teams, as they have Patrick Patterson, Chuck Hayes, Marcus Thornton and Toney Douglas! We aren't talking about scrubs, while the same doesn't happen with Phoenix's poor bench. Without Dragic playing, Phoenix has a huge offensive problem. Rookie Kendall Marshall is having his opportunity to shine, but he is a very raw shooter. He is a good passes, but he is still far from being at NBA level, as he's shown yesterday with 5 turnovers. Therefore, we will have a clear edge for Sacramento at the PG position today with Isiah Thomas, who is coming from a game where he simply outplayed Stephen Curry!
Sacramento is continuing to shoot very well from long range and despite their questionable defensive effort tonight, I believe there is a considerable gap of talent between these two offenses, something that will result on a comfortable win for the Kings tonight. Phoenix's perimeter defense has been awful all season long and that will be the kiss of death for them against a red hot Sacramento. Therefore, I'll be taking the Kings in here.
Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 805 Sacramento Kings (-2) @ -110 / 1.91 on Bookmaker
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