The Phoenix Suns head to The Hive to take on the Charlotte Hornets at the Spectrum Center on Monday night.
The Suns head to Charlotte having lost their last three games and they are only 3-7 SU in their last 10 games played. Phoenix has allowed at least 116 points in five out of their last six losses and defense has been a big issue for them this year. The Hornets saw their two-game winning streak halted by the Milwaukee Bucks. Charlotte gave up 137 points in their last outing and they have conceded at least 116 points in five out of their last six losses. The Hornets have won the last two regular-season meetings between these two teams.
Lost Three Straight Games
The Phoenix Suns have lost three straight games to fall below the .500 mark. Phoenix is now 8-10 SU on the season and they are 3rd in the Los Angeles-dominated Pacific Division. The Suns’ defense has conceded 116, 140 and 120 games during this stretch and they will need to play better defense if they want to win on Monday night.
Devin Booker leads the Suns with 24.5 points per game this season. Kelly Oubre is scoring 17.5 points and grabbing 5.9 rebounds per contest. Ricky Rubio leads Phoenix in assists with 7.8 dimes per contest while also scoring 13.5 points per game. Aussie big man Aron Baynes is averaging 14.7 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.
The Suns are 10th in the league in scoring at 114.7 points per game. They are allowing the 12th most points per game this season at 112.9 points per game this year. Phoenix is ranked 24th off the glass at 42.5 rebounds per game and they are 2nd best passing team in the league at 27.6 assists per game.
Win Streak Over
The Charlotte Hornets’ two-game winning streak came to a crashing end when the Milwaukee Bucks destroyed them 96-137 on Saturday night. The Hornets defense allowed nine Milwaukee players to score in double digits and Charlotte fell to 8-13 SU on the season, 3rd in the Southeast Division.
Devonte Graham leads the Hornets in scoring and passing at 18.2 points and 7.4 assists per game. Cody Zeller leads Charlotte in rebounding at 7.9 rebounds while also scoring 11.2 points per game. Terry Rozier is contributing 17.5 points and 4.1 assists per game while leading the team in steals at 1.2 thefts per contest.
The Hornets rank 26th in the NBA in scoring at 105.5 points per game this season. They have the 10th worst scoring defense in the league at 114.0 points per game allowed and they are 16th in assists at 23.8 dimes per contest. Charlotte is the worst rebounding team in the league at 41.3 boards hauled per contest.
Who Wins?
Phoenix is 1-6 SU in their last seven games played. The Suns are 6-14 SU in their last 20 games played on the road and 7-13 SU in their last 20 games against the Eastern Conference. Charlotte is 2-6 SU in their last eight games played. The Hornets are 4-5 Su in nine home games played this season, and 5-14 SU in their last 20 games against the Western Conference. Head to head, the Hornets are 5-0 SU in their last five games played against the Suns.
The Suns begin a taxing stretch where they will play four road games in six days. Phoenix will get a boost with the return of big man Aron Baynes who is having his best season ever. Baynes missed five games before returning in their last game against the Mavericks. Devin Booker is coming off an 18-point game so I expect him to bounce back big here.
The Hornets were blown out by the Bucks in their last game. Milwaukee pounded the Charlotte defense with 137 points and put nine players in double digits in that game. Their defense will be put to the test against Phoenix’s Top 10 scoring led by Devin Booker and Kelly Oubre Jr.
Phoenix has lost six out of their last seven days played but will have a good chance to win this game because they are playing a Charlotte team that is in the Bottom 10 in scoring defense and which conceded 137 points against the Bucks. The Suns have the more explosive offense here and that should be enough to give them a win over the Hornets.
Prediction: Phoenix Suns
Other Bets to Make
Phoenix is 1-6 ATS in their last seven games played. The Suns are 4-2 ATS in their six games played on the road, and 2-7 ATS in their last nine games against the Southeast Division. The Hornets are 3-2 ATS in their last five games played and 5-4 ATS in nine home games played this season. Charlotte is 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games in December, and 2-6 ATS in their last eight Monday games. Head to head, the Hornets are 2-1 ATS in their last three games against the Suns.
Suns
-5 (-110)
Hornets
+5 (-110)
Odds from SportsBetting as of 12/02/19
The Suns have outscored the Hornets by an average of 6.3 points per game in their last 10 meetings and 11 points per game in their last three head to head encounters. Phoenix is ranked 8th in the NBA in three-point shooting percentage and that should help offset their defensive liability here. Booker, Oubre, and Rubio will be too much for the Hornets to handle.
Prediction: Suns -5
The total has gone over in five out of the last six games played by the Suns. The under is 4-2 in the last six road games played by Phoenix. The total has gone over in five out of the last six games played by the Hornets. The under is 5-4 in Charlotte’s nine home games played this season. Head to head, the over is 9-0 in the last nine games between the Suns and Hornets. The over is also 5-0 in the last five games between these teams in Charlotte.
Over
224 (-108)
Under
224 (-112)
Odds from SportsBetting as of 12/02/19
These teams have combined to score an average of 223.9 points per game in their last 10 meetings and 139.67 points per game in their last three meetings. Both these teams are in the bottom 12 in scoring defense. Phoenix has allowed at least 116 points in five out of their last six games played while Charlotte has yielded at least 116 points in four out of their last six games played. The over is 5-0 in the Suns’ last five games against the Southeast Division. This one should be no different.
Prediction: Over 224