The Los Angeles Clippers head to the Sleep Train Arena in Phoenix on Thursday to square off against the Phoenix Suns.

The Phoenix Suns are just 14-28 on the season as the Suns prepare to host the Clippers on Thursday. Phoenix is currently 17.5 games back of the Clippers in the Atlantic division, and the Suns are struggling lately, going just 3-7 in their last ten outings. The Suns did get a win last time out however as Phoenix defeated the Kings 106-96 on Wednesday night in Sacramento. The Suns have a middle of the road offense this season, scoring an average of 95.6 points per game, but their Achilles heel has been their defense, which is ranked near the bottom of the league, allowing just under 100 points per outing.

The Los Angeles Clippers have been on a tear this season and are starting to pull away from the rest of the pack in the Pacific division. The Clippers currently own a five game lead over the Warriors, and no one else is even close as the Lakers are third in division at 14.5 back. Los Angeles has dropped their last two outings as the Clippers have faced some tough competition going against the Warriors on the road and then following up with OKC at home. Los Angeles is ranked in the top ten in both scoring offense and scoring defense this season as the Clippers are averaging 101.5 points per game, while allowing just 93.4. Look for Los Angeles to come out focused here as this is a great opportunity for the Clippers to get back into the win column after consecutive losses.

The Phoenix Suns are just 17-23-2 against the spread this season, while the Clippers have been a profitable 25-18 against the number. The Clippers are just 10-9 against the spread on the road however, while the Suns are 7-13-1 against the spread at home.

My play here is going to be on the Suns at home, but my suggestion is to stay away from this one. My gut is telling me to play the Clippers as LA is by far the better team and really needs this win, however the numbers are in the favor of the Suns. Another angle I have here with Phoenix is the current betting trends. The number has dropped half a point since open, which normally isn't much of a factor, but considering only 18 percent of the tickets have come in on the Suns and still the number has dropped tells me that some big money has been played on Phoenix which definitely got my attention. I am personally staying away, but I'm going with the numbers here with the Suns.

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