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Every game matters in the Wild Western Conference.
The Golden State Warriors are fighting for a top-six seed as they travel south to face the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday.
Golden State, which has been arguably the best team in the NBA since it traded for Jimmy Butler, enters Tuesday’s matchup as a 9.5-point favorite against the Suns
The Warriors are currently in a four-way tie for the No. 5 seed and just a half game back of the Nuggets for the No. 4 seed, although the two teams — plus three others — are even in the loss column.
It’s one of the wildest races to the playoffs we’ve ever seen as the NBA playoffs draw near and the play-in games come into focus.
Warriors vs. Suns prediction
The Suns are 2 1/2 games behind the Mavericks for the final play-in spot with just four games remaining in their season.
A loss on Tuesday essentially eliminates them from contention, although the Suns hold the tiebreaker.
But does Phoenix even care? The Suns don’t play like it.
Kevin Durant will sit Tuesday, making the road to the play-in tournament even more daunting.
The line moved from -6 to -9.5 in favor of Golden State once Durant’s status came to light.
The Suns are allowing an obscene 116.6 points per game, 22nd-lowest in the NBA, but their advanced stats are even worse than that.
Since the All-Star break, the Suns have the second-worst defensive rating in the NBA (122.2), behind only the Raptors (122.9), who are actively trying to lose games and sitting their star player, Brandon Ingram, and others in an attempt to improve draft odds.
Betting on the NBA?
The Warriors have the league’s third-best net rating, behind only the NBA title favorites in the Celtics and the Thunder.
Golden State needs this game Tuesday, and the Suns are planning their offseason trips to Cancun, where they will all be placed on the trading block.
Frankly, this might be the end of the road with a true give up performance Tuesday against a team that might really be an NBA Finals contender.
Back the Warriors to defeat the Suns.
PICK: Warriors -9.5 (-110, BetMGM)
Why Trust New York Post Betting
Erich Richter is a brazilian jiu-jitsu blue belt but he has a black belt in MMA betting. During the football season he’s showcased massive profits at The Post in the player prop market the last two seasons. While constantly betting long shots, his return on investment is 30.15 percent since 2022.
