New Orleans Pelicans vs Phoenix Suns 12/9/22 NBA Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Phoenix Suns and the New Orleans Pelicans do battle at the Smoothie King Center on Friday night.

The Phoenix Suns have cooled off from their six-game win streak as they’ve now lost three of their last four games and they will be hoping to bounce back after getting routed by the Celtics in a 125-98 loss on Wednesday. Josh Okogie led the team with 28 points on eight of 14 shooting off the bench, Devin Booker added 17 points while Cameron Payne chipped in with 12 points off the bench. As a team, the Suns shot just 39 percent from the field and eight of 32 from the 3-point line as they struggled to find their rhythm from the start and trailed by 27 points going into halftime and things only got worse in the second half where the margin ballooned to 46 points at one stage. Devin Booker struggled in this one as he shot just six of 17 from the field while Mikal Bridges scored just four points on two of 12 shooting.

Meanwhile, the New Orleans Pelicans have been in red-hot form as they’ve won 10 of their last 12 games overall and they will be eager to build on their five-game win streak after sneaking past the Pistons in a 104-98 home win on Wednesday. Zion Williamson led the team with 29 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, Trey Murphy added 20 points and five assists while Jonas Valanciunas chipped in with 14 points and 122 rebounds. As a team, the Pelicans shot 45 percent from the field and eight of 27 from the 3-point line, but this win was more about their defense as they held the Pistons to just 15 points in the second quarter to take control of the game, before they held on for the narrow win after the Pistons rallied in the fourth quarter. CJ McCollum has been in a shooting slump and he had another rough game of just eight points on three of 11 shooting.

Looking at the betting trends, the Suns are 7-1 ATS in their last eight games following a loss, 4-1 ATS in their last five games against a team above .600 and 5-2 ATS in their last seven games following a double-digit loss at home. The Pelicans are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 home games against a team with a losing road record and 4-1 ATS in their last five games playing on one days rest.

Head to head, the over is 5-1 in the last six meetings overall, the Suns are 4-1 ATS in the last five meetings overall and the Suns are 5-1 ATS in the last six meetings in New Orleans.

The Suns will again be missing Cameron Johnson and Duane Washington Jr. while the Pelicans have ruled out Brandon Ingram and they are keeping an eye on Jose Alverado who is questionable. The Suns could really do with a win after getting demolished in their last two games, but they won’t get any sympathy from the Pelicans who have quietly been one of the hottest teams in the league. You could pick either side here, but the Suns are 7-1 ATS in their last eight games following a loss, so I’ll back them to bounce back with a much-needed win here against the shorthanded Pelicans.