After crushing their road back-to-back (beating the Detroit Pistons and Cleveland Cavaliers) to conclude their six-game road trip, the Sacramento Kings have the night off. However, that doesn't mean that there isn't a reason that Kings fans shouldn't be tuning into tonight's slate of games.
The Kings could clinch a spot in the Play-In Tournament with a Suns' loss
After an ambitious offseason, the goal of the 2024-25 campaign has always been to go to the playoffs for the Kings. Unfortunately, due to the up-and-down nature of their play, they don't have a chance at securing a top-six seed. So, they will need to make it through the Play-In Tournament to clinch their second playoff berth in three years.
Anyway, tonight could be the night that they cement their place in the league's fifth-ever Play-In Tournament. As it stands, the Kings are in ninth place, one game ahead of the Dallas Mavericks and, more importantly, 3.5 games ahead of the Phoenix Suns, who are sitting at eleventh.
The second part of that last statement is important because, after tonight's game, both the Kings and Suns will have three games left on their regular season schedule. If they lose tonight, they will be four games behind the Kings in the standings, making it impossible for them to pass them in the standings. From there, the Kings would only have to worry about holding the Mavericks off for the ninth seed (so that they can host the game between the two teams).
Who are the Suns playing tonight?
The Suns will have their hands full tonight as they play host to the Golden State Warriors (10 PM EST on TNT). Along with being one of the hottest teams in the league since they acquired Jimmy Butler, the Warriors are also in their own race for playoff seeding, as just a half game separates the four through eight seeds in the West.
This season, the Suns are 2-1 against the Warriors, but this is the first time they have played them since they added Butler. According to their official injury reports, the Warriors will have all their guys available tonight. Meanwhile, the Suns will be without Kevin Durant (ankle). Nick Richards is listed as probable (elbow).