Phoenix Suns vs Sacramento Kings Prediction, 12/26/2020 NBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Phoenix Suns vs Sacramento Kings

Date: Saturday, December 26, 2020

Location: Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, CA

TV: NBC Sports California

Odds/Point Spread: Phoenix (-3.5)

Golden 1 Center is the site where and the Sacramento Kings (31-41 last year) will take on the Phoenix Suns (34-39 last season) on Saturday. Sacramento opens this game as 3.5-point dogs. The O/U is set at 227.5.

The Phoenix Suns stepped onto the hardwood against the Dallas Mavericks and went home with a win by a final score of 106-102 in their last contest. Phoenix walked away from the game having earned a 48.1% field goal percentage (38 of 79) and buried 11 out of their 30 three-point shots. From the charity stripe, the Suns made 19 of 27 attempts for a rate of 70.4%. When talking about hauling in boards, they collected a total of 48 with 6 of them being of the offensive variety. They also recorded 21 dimes in the matchup in addition to earning 7 steals and 7 blocked shots. In reference to the defense, Phoenix let their opponent shoot 42.4% from the floor on 36 out of 85 shooting. Dallas distributed 17 dimes and had 6 steals in this matchup. Moreover, the Mavericks pulled down 39 rebounds (6 offensive, 33 defensive) and had 2 blocks. Dallas finished 80.8% from the free throw line by making 21 of 26 tries. They knocked down 9 out of their 37 attempts from beyond the arc.

Mikal Bridges is someone who was a major factor for the matchup. He accumulated 18 points on 5 of 11 shooting. He saw the court for 35:57 mins played and also totaled 7 boards. Bridges shot 45.5% from the floor and also earned 2 assists. An additional guy that was a major contributor in this contest for the Suns was Devin Booker. He grabbed 5 rebounds and also accounted for 3 dimes. He ended up going 53.3% from the field in this game by shooting 8-of-15 (22 points). In all, Booker played 34:07 minutes.

Phoenix heads into this matchup after finishing with a mark of 34-39 last year. The Suns hit on 35.8% on three-point attempts (831 of 2,320) and 83.4% from the charity stripe. They averaged 113.6 points per game (10th in basketball) while going 46.8% from the field. They gave up possession 14.8 times per contest and as a squad committed 22.0 fouls per game. As a basketball team, Phoenix collected 43.5 rebounds per contest and racked up 1,987 assists last year, which had them ranked 1st in the league in terms of passing the ball. Defensively, the Suns were able to force their opponents into 15.6 turnovers per game while drawing 22.6 personal fouls. They were ranked 16th in the NBA in allowing assists to the opposition with 1,723 surrendered last season. The Suns defensively gave up a FG percentage of 47.2% (3,011 of 6,378) and they surrendered 43.3 rebounds per game as a squad. They surrendered 36.3% from beyond the arc and they ranked 20th in basketball in PPG allowed (113.4).

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Sacramento Kings walked away with a victory by a final of 124-122 against the Denver Nuggets. The Kings earned 36 defensive boards and 17 offensive boards totaling 53 in this matchup. They also blocked 7 shots while earning 5 steals in this matchup. The Nuggets committed 25 fouls in this contest which took the Kings to the free throw line for 31 tries. They were able to make 24 of those for a percentage of 77.4%. In reference to shooting from beyond the arc, Sacramento knocked down 10 out of 31 attempts (32.3%). At the conclusion of this game, the Kings went 45 for 101 from the floor which had them sitting at 44.6%. The Kings permitted the Nuggets to make 47 of 98 tries from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 48.0% for this contest. They finished 27.6% from three-point range by shooting 8 out of 29 and ended up shooting 20 out of 24 from the free throw line (83.3%). In reference to cleaning up the glass, Sacramento permitted Denver to collect 45 overall (10 on the offensive side).

Harrison Barnes ended up having an impact for the Kings in this contest. He converted 8 out of 15 for the matchup giving him a rate of 53.3%, which had him sitting at 21 points. Barnes grabbed 9 boards in his 41:57 mins of time on the hardwood and accounted for 5 assists for the game. An additional guy who was a determining factor for Sacramento was Buddy Hield. He was able to score 22 points in his 41:07 mins played by way of 7 out of 15 from the floor for this game. Hield wrapped this one up going 46.7% from the field as well as earning 3 assists and 4 rebounds.

Sacramento had a mark of 31-41 last year. The Kings committed 22.2 personal fouls per contest and they connected on 77.0% from the charity stripe. Their rate of assisting teammates was at 23.8 times per contest (21st in the NBA) and they turned it over 14.5 times per contest. Sacramento accumulated 7,927 pts over the course of last year (110.1 per contest) and they grabbed 42.6 boards per contest. In terms of offensive execution, the Kings connected on 46.2% from the floor, which had them ranked 15th in basketball. The Kings defensively were ranked 17th in the NBA in points given up per game with 112.1. They forced 15.2 TO's per game and allowed teams to shoot 47.1% from the floor (21st in the league). The Sacramento defense allowed 35.7% on shots from behind the 3-point line (894 of 2,506) and their opponents converted on 79.0% of their free throw shots. They gave up 24.9 dimes and 43.5 total rebounds per game, which had them ranked 20th and 9th in those categories.

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Sacramento (+3.5)

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