Preview: Suns Face Kings

There are only two games remaining this season for the Phoenix Suns.

Apr 10, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) moves the ball / Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

PHOENIX -- The Phoenix Suns (47-33) are in the final weekend of the 2023-24 season - in which they are pitted against the Sacramento Kings (45-35) tonight.

This game is notable - as Phoenix and Sacramento are tied in the season series 2-2. This contest will decide who wins the head-to-head tiebreaker and could potentially factor into seeding once the dust settles.

The Kings have yet to officially release their injury report as of publish, though Phoenix expects to have every player active outside of Damion Lee - who has missed all season to this point.

A brief recap on Sacramento's play as of late, a key matchup, and a game prediction will follow.

Kings: Rough Stretch

The Kings have lost four of their last five games - which has sealed the undesired fate of being a play-in team.

Much of the Kings' struggles can be directly correlated to the untimely injuries suffered by the dynamic 2-guard duo in Kevin Huerter and Malik Monk.

Both players had been instrumental in bringing balance to a lineup that is often carried by the De'Aaron Fox/Domantas Sabonis combo.

Phoenix hasn't played stellar basketball over the last week, but they should be able to withhold Sacramento in what could be the most important game of the regular season.

Key Matchup: Domantas Sabonis vs Jusuf Nurkic

The Kings' big man has perhaps enjoyed the best season of his career - ranking top 10 in RPG, APG, and FG%, while also averaging nearly 20 points per night.

He has also enjoyed immense success against Phoenix in their four matchups, posting marks of 24.8 PPG, 14.5 RPG, and 10 APG against a very physical counterpart in Jusuf Nurkic.

The Suns simply cannot allow Sabonis to impose his will on this game, and should put an emphasis on attacking the Kings' center at the rim - defense is a shortcoming of Sacramento's big man.

Prediction: Suns Win

The Suns ride the momentum that was built in the closing minutes of the victory over the L.A. Clippers tonight - and use it to down the short-handed Kings.

Phoenix could once again be looking at sitting inside the top six in the West with a victory plus a loss by the New Orleans Pelicans.

Suns-Kings is set to tip off shortly after 7:30 PM Arizona time tonight.