The Phoenix Suns and the New Orleans Pelicans duke it out at the Smoothie King Center on Thursday night. Here’s a New Orleans Pelicans vs Phoenix Suns Prediction. This article will include a New Orleans Pelicans vs Phoenix Suns Pick.
Phoenix Suns
The Phoenix Suns look to be heating up again as they’ve won three of their past four games and they will be aiming for a third straight win after beating the Spurs in a 104-93 home win on Tuesday. Devin Booker led the team with 29 points, nine rebounds, and five assists, Tyus Jones added 16 points on six of 10 shooting while Kevin Durant chipped in with 13 points in 16 minutes of action before leaving with an ankle sprain.
As a team, the Suns shot 48 percent from the field and 11 of 32 from the 3-point line, but this win was set up by defense as the Suns restricted the Spurs to just 39 points in the first half before they relied on some offense from Booker late in the game to get over the line at home.
New Orleans Pelicans
Meanwhile, the New Orleans Pelicans have been in horrible shape as they’ve lost 18 of their first 22 games and they will be hoping to arrest a nine-game slide after getting routed by the Hawks in a 124-112 road defeat on Monday. CJ McCollum led the team with 29 points on 12 of 26 shooting, Yves Missi added 23 points on 11 of 14 shooting while Brandon Boston Jr chipped in with 19 points off the bench.
As a team, the Pelicans shot 44 percent from the field and 13 of 42 from the 3-point line as they got off to a strong start and were good enough to take a narrow lead into halftime, only to get smashed in the second half where they allowed 66 points. Dejounte Murray had a night to forget as he shot just two of 15 from the field and one of seven from the 3-point line to finish with just seven points with four turnovers. The Pelicans will meet the Thunder after this one.
Why the Phoenix Suns will win
- The Pelicans have lost each of their last nine games.
- The Suns have won each of their last eight games as favorites against Western Conference opponents.
- The Suns have covered the spread in each of their last four night games against Southwest Division opponents.
- The Pelicans have failed to cover the spread in six of their last seven night games against Suns teams that held a winning record.
Total Points Facts
- Each of the Suns’ last nine games as road favorites against the Pelicans have gone OVER the total points line.
- Each of the Pelicans’ last eight home games against Western Conference opponents has gone UNDER the total points line.
New Orleans Pelicans vs Phoenix Suns Prediction
The Suns are still playing without Jusuf Nurkic and Kevin Durant, while the Pelicans are keeping an eye on Herbert Jones and Brandon Ingram who are both questionable for this one. The Suns’ win over the Spurs on Tuesday came at a cost as they lost Kevin Durant to an ankle sprain which could see him miss a few games, but they still have more than enough firepower to get past this slumping Pelicans team missing most of their starting lineup. The line is short for this one, so I am staying with the Suns to maintain their momentum with a narrow win and cover on the road.