The race for the final seed in the Western Conference will be a fascinating one to track down the stretch, and no contest will loom larger than this one on Friday night in Sacramento.

Because of the San Antonio Spurs’ struggles on their Rodeo Road Trip, the Clippers have seized control of the seventh seed in the West. Los Angeles is playing solid basketball, winning and covering three of its last four contests.

Nevertheless, the Clippers have taken advantage of a favorable schedule, as those three wins have come against Phoenix, Memphis and Dallas.

Things will ramp up in Sacramento against a Kings team that is 6-4 straight up and 8-2 against the line in its last 10 games. Even better for Sacramento, it has covered 10-of-11 games at home while posting a 9-2 straight up record.

The Clippers have not been playing the best defensive basketball as of late, allowing 1.104 points per possession since the start of February. That was extremely apparent against Denver over the weekend when Los Angeles allowed the Nuggets to average 1.117 points per possession and lost by 27 points. Against a poor defensive team, the Kings should make it 22-9 against the spread at home after a win and cover on Friday night.

The play: Kings, -2 ¹/₂.