Bill Yin breaks down his prediction and pick for tonight’s game between the Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Suns.

The 14-48 Kings will host the 34-26 Suns tonight. The Kings hold the worst record in the NBA and will be without Dylan Cardwell, Keegan Murray, and De’Andre Hunter. They’ve lost Domantas Sabonis and Zach LaVine for the season. Phoenix will be without Dillon Brooks, Jordan Goodwin, and Khaman Maluach.

The Suns are 9.5-point favorites on DraftKings Sportsbook with the total for this game set at 223.5 points.

Kings vs. Suns prediction, preview

Phoenix has been the better team all season, and wins by leaning on shot-making and pacing with above-average defense. The injury to Dillon Brooks was brutal, however, and limits Phoenix’s hopes of making a decent playoff run. And we’ve been beginning to see the decline, with Phoenix down to 110.1 OFFRTG and 118.1 DEFRTG in their last 10. Their assist volume has also dipped lately, but Devin Booker’s reintegration into the lineup should help correct that. Booker will be instrumental in restoring Phoenix’s half-court game and reorganizing their offense. Newly acquired Mark Williams has also been an effective starting center, but still has a lot of room for improvement. He’s averaging just 11.6 PPG and 8.1 RPG but has failed to reach 1 BPG. He’s shooting 63.5% from the floor.

Sacramento, on the other hand, has been a complete dumpster fire. They hold the worst record in the league and are struggling with nightly volatility. Sabonis and LaVine are both out for the rest of the season, and we have to wonder whether Scott Perry aims to run it back next season with this exact roster. Sacramento’s already in silly-season territory with signing Killian Hayes to a 10-day contract and scaling back the workloads of vets like Russell Westbrook. The Kings are 29th in DEFRTG, 28th in OFFRTG, and 29th in NETRTG. They’re conceding the 28th most points and the 26th most assists.

Kings vs. Suns pick, best bet

Best Bet: PHO Suns -10.5 (-102)

With Devin Booker’s return, the Suns are poised to resume their campaign amidst a competitive Western Conference bloodbath. They’re much better with Booker on the court, with a +3.8 NETRTG as opposed to -7.7 with him off, which is a 11.5 point swing. We can expect Booker’s return to help the Suns put away the Kings in this must-win.