The Phoenix Suns haven’t exactly been lighting it up of late, but the NBA odds say they’re the pick against visiting Sacramento, which is on a SEGABABA.
We’re not even at the halfway point of the NBA season, but a pair of Pacific Division rivals will close out their season series Tuesday night. The Phoenix Suns are a surprisingly good pick to win, cover the 6½ points they are laying as favorites at home and complete their second season-series victory over the Sacramento Kings in three years.
The teams split their two games in California’s state capital, with the Kings winning and covering as three-point favorites on Nov. 19 and Phoenix getting a 112-110 win at 2½-point underdogs on Dec. 28. In the first meeting in the Valley of the Sun, it was all Suns, who were one-point underdogs at home on opening night, Oct. 23, but routed Sacramento 124-95.
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The Kings haven’t been covering (or playing) well of late anyway, with their 111-98 win at home over the Warriors on Monday night just their second victory in their last 11 games, a stretch during which Sacramento is 3-8 against the spread. Throw in the home-road SEGABABA factor and the Suns start to look much more attractive.
Phoenix is 4-1 ATS in its last five games, even as the Suns have won just three of their last 13 contests outright. Favoring Phoenix in this matchup may fly in the face of the Kings being 12-7 ATS on the road this season, but that have covered just one of their last three away from home and the Suns are five games better than break-even ATS on the season.
Against the banged-up Warriors, not having Marvin Bagley III and Bogdan Bogdanovic didn’t matter than much. Against a rested Suns team that is mostly healthy, they will miss those two. Deandre Ayton carved up the Kings on opening night with Bagley in the lineup, so the smaller Richaun Holmes has his work cut out for him.
The Kings are dealing with some frontcourt depth issues besides Bagley’s sprained foot. Big man Dewayne Dedmon signed a three-year, $40 million deal with Sacramento in July and was fined last week for publicly requesting a trade, getting the same $50,000 penalty Anthony Davis received last season for the same infraction.
Dedmon has been inactive in each of the Kings’ last three games, listed as a “coach’s decision.” He has played in just two games for seven minutes since Dec. 6. There’s turmoil in Sacramento — shocking, we know — and it makes it easier to like Phoenix to beat the Kings again at home, even with a normally daunting 6½ to be given.
Sacramento Kings at Phoenix Suns
TV: NBC Sports California (Kings), Fox Sports Arizona (Suns)
Tickets: Talking Stick Resort Arena, 7 p.m. local (9 p.m. Eastern)
Records: Sacramento 14-23 (19-18 ATS, 12-7 road ATS, Phoenix 14-22 (20-15-1 ATS, 10-9-1 home ATS)
Availability report (as of 8:30 p.m. Eastern on Monday)
Sacramento: Not required to submit report until 3 p.m. Eastern. In Monday’s XXXXX to the Warriors, Sacramento was without Marvin Bagley III (left foot sprain), Bogdan Bogdanovic (right ankle soreness), Dewayne Dedmon (coach’s decision), Kyle Guy (two-way, G League) and DaQuan Jeffries (two-way, G League).
Phoenix: OUT–Jared Harper (two-way, G League), Frank Kaminsky (right patella, stress fracture).
In the rest of Tuesday’s six-game NBA schedule, we find:
Detroit Pistons at Cleveland Cavaliers
TV: Fox Sports Detroit+ (Pistons), Fox Sports Ohio (Cavaliers)
Tickets: Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, 7 p.m. local (7 p.m. Eastern)
Records: Detroit 13-24 (14-22-1 ATS, 8-12 road ATS), Cleveland 10-26 (14-20-2 ATS, 7-11-1 home ATS)
Availability report
Detroit: OUT–Jordan Bone (two-way, G League), Blake Griffin (left knee soreness), Reggie Jackson (stress reaction, left lumbar spine), Luke Kennard (bilateral patella tendinitis), Markieff Morris (left foot sprain), Khyri Thomas (right foot surgery).
Cleveland: OUT–Larry Nance Jr. (left knee soreness), Kevin Porter Jr. (left knee sprain), Dylan Windler (stress reaction, left lower leg); QUESTIONABLE–Tristan Thompson (illness).
Notable: Despite a 3-8 ATS mark in their last 11 games, the Detroit Pistons are road favorites against another team with some drama happening off the court in the Cleveland Cavaliers. Cleveland is just 1-4 ATS over its last five games and have lost five of six straight up. However, the Pistons may learn on Tuesday whether Blake Griffin will need season-ending knee surgery.
The Central Division rivals have played just once so far, with the Pistons coming into Cleveland and running roughshod on Dec. 3, blowing out the Cavaliers 127-94 as 3½-point favorites. Detroit is just 2-9 straight up in its last 11 games amid talk the club may be looking to deal the NBA’s leading rebounder in Andre Drummond.
Portland Trail Blazers at Toronto Raptors
TV: NBC Sports Northwest/Blazers Pass (Trail Blazers), TSN1/TSN4/TSN5 (Raptors)
Tickets: Scotiabank Arena, 7 p.m. local (7 p.m. Eastern)
Records: Portland 15-22 (14-22-1 ATS, 8-12 road ATS), Toronto 24-12 (19-15-1 ATS, 11-7 home ATS)
Availability report
Portland: OUT–Zach Collins (left shoulder dislocation), Rodney Hood (left Achilles tendon rupture), Skal Labissiere (left knee inflammation), Jusuf Nurkic (left leg fracture); QUESTIONABLE–CJ McCollum (upper respiratory illness).
Toronto: OUT–Marc Gasol (left hamstring strain), Dewan Hernandez (right ankle sprain), Pascal Siakam (groin strain), Fred VanVleet (right hamstring strain); DOUBTFUL–Norman Powell (left shoulder subluxation); AVAILABLE–Shamorie Ponds.
Notable: Attrition may be the name of the game Tuesday night at Scotiabank Arena, where the depleted Portland Trail Blazers may not have CJ McCollum due to an illness. But the Toronto Raptors — already down two starters — are about a 50/50 shot to not have a third in Fred VanVleet, who is dealing with a strained hamstring.
Portland is just 1-6 ATS in its last seven games, with the same record straight up. The Raptors have gone 8-4 both ATS and straight up in its last 12, but have covered just two of their last five at home. Toronto won on the road earlier this season, getting 2½ points as underdogs on Nov. 13 and leaving with a straight-up 114-106 victory.
Oklahoma City Thunder at Brooklyn Nets
TV: Fox Sports Oklahoma (Thunder), YES (Nets), NBA TV (national)
Tickets: Barclays Center, 7:30 p.m. local (7:30 p.m. Eastern)
Records: Oklahoma City 20-16 (24-12 ATS, 13-5 road ATS), Brooklyn 16-19 (16-19 ATS, 9-7 home ATS)
Availability report
Oklahoma City: Not required to submit report until 1 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday. In Monday’s loss at Philadelphia, the Thunder were without Luguentz Dort (two-way, G League), Kevin Hervey (two-way, G League), Nerlens Noel (left ankle sprain) and Andre Roberson (left knee injury recovery).
Brooklyn: Not required to submit report until 1 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday. In Monday’s loss at Orlando, the Nets did not have Chris Chiozza (two-way, G League), Kevin Durant (right Achilles rehab), Kyrie Irving (right shoulder impingement) or Caris LeVert (right thumb surgery injury management).
Notable: The NBA’s best road bet heads to Gotham, as the Oklahoma City Thunder and Brooklyn Nets meet in a double-SEGABABA — The Thunder were in Philadelphia Monday night, while Brooklyn was at Orlando. Both teams are coming off losses, though OKC covered the 7½-point spread in its 120-113 loss.
Oklahoma City is 5-1 straight up in its last six games and has covered in all six. The Nets have lost six games in a row and don’t have a cover in any of them, but they are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games at Barclays Center and have covered in four of their last five games hosting the Thunder. Brooklyn will have Caris LeVert Tuesday after he was held out in the front end of the back-to-back.
Minnesota Timberwolves at Memphis Grizzlies
TV: Fox Sports North (Timberwolves), Fox Sports Southeast-Memphis (Grizzlies)
Tickets: FedExForum, 7 p.m. local (8 p.m. Eastern)
Records: Minnesota 14-21 (15-18-2 ATS, 11-7-1 road ATS), Memphis 15-22 (18-18-1 ATS, 9-10 home ATS)
Availability report
Minnesota: OUT–Jake Layman (left toe sprain), Jordan McLaughlin (two-way, G League), Jaylen Nowell (G League); QUESTIONABLE–Karl-Anthony Towns (left knee sprain).
Memphis: OUT–Andre Iguodala (not with team), Josh Jackson (G League), John Konchar (two-way, G League), Yuta Watanabe (two-way, G League).
Notable: This one is a runaway special, as in run as far away from putting anything of value on this game as you possibly can. The Minnesota Timberwolves are one of the better road bets in the NBA and have gone 5-1 ATS in their last six games. The Memphis Grizzlies are middling, at best, at home against the number, but are 10-4-1 ATS in their last 15 games.
Memphis has taken the first two meetings with the Timberwolves outright, winning big at home 137-121 on Nov. 6 as 3½-point underdogs and covering as 12-point road dogs at Minnesota on Dec. 1, taking a 115-107 straight-up victory. Something will have to give — the Wolves are 4-1-1 ATS in their last six road games, Memphis has covered two of its last three at home.
New York Knicks at Los Angeles Lakers
TV: MSG (Knicks), Spectrum SportsNet (Lakers), NBA TV (national)
Tickets: Staples Center, 7:30 p.m. local (10:30 p.m. Eastern)
Records: New York 10-26 (19-17 ATS, 11-8 road ATS), Los Angeles 29-7 (18-16-1 ATS, 9-8-1 home ATS)
Availability report
New York: OUT–Ivan Rabb (two-way, G League); QUESTIONABLE–Elfrid Payton (personal), Dennis Smith Jr. (left oblique strain); PROBABLE–Marcus Morris (sore neck).
Los Angeles: OUT–Kostas Antetokounmpo (two-way, G League), Devontae Cacok (two-way, G League), DeMarcus Cousins (right knee rehabilitation); QUESTIONABLE–Avery Bradley (right ankle sprain); PROBABLE–Anthony Davis (right shoulder soreness); AVAILABLE–Talen Horton-Tucker (recalled from G League).
Notable: From the “betting truth is literally stranger than fiction department,” this factoid: the New York Knicks — with 10 wins this season — have been as good a bet this season as the 29-win Los Angeles Lakers. The Knicks are 19-17 ATS compared to Los Angeles’ 18-16-1 mark. The Knicks covered at Staples Center against the Clippers on Sunday and are 4-1 ATS in their last five.
The Lakers have won their last five games straight up, but are a dismal 2-8-1 ATS over their last 11 games. Los Angeles is 0-2-1 ATS since the turn of the New Year — all at home — and is 1-4-1 ATS in their last six games at Staples. It’s the first meeting between the teams since New York beat the Lakers at Madison Square Garden on March 17 of last season.