The Phoenix Suns look to stay hot when they visit the Chase Center to face the slumping Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night.
Phoenix has clinched the top seed throughout the entire 2022 playoffs with an 8.5 game lead over the Memphis Grizzlies with only seven left to play. Despite that, the Suns continue to roll with 8 straight wins heading to this contest. Phoenix is coming off consecutive wins over the Minnesota Timberwolves, Denver Nuggets, and Philadelphia 76ers who like them are heading to the playoffs. At 61-14, they need only one win to tie their franchise record for wins and with still 7 left to play, there’s a good chance they break the record.
While the Suns have their eyes set on the record, the Warriors simply want to keep their current third seed in the West. The Dubs were in the running for the best record in the league early in the season but injuries to Draymond Green, and now Steph Curry has cost them a lot of victories. With Curry out, they have lost six out of their last seven games played and are now 2.5 games from falling to the 6th seed. Curry isn’t expected to return in the regular season, making the last six games a big challenge for the Warriors.
Phoenix Suns
The Suns won their 8th straight game by defeating the Philadelphia 76ers 114-104. Devin Booker scored 35 points while Chris Paul added 19 points and 14 assists. DeAndre Ayton also posted his own double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds while Landry Shamet came off the bench to score 12 points on 3-5 three-point shooting.
Phoenix ranks 3rd in the league in scoring at 115.3 points per game this season. They are 11th in rebounding at 45.2 boards grabbed per contest and 4th in passing at 27.4 assists per game. The suns are 8th in the NBA in scoring defense at 106.9 points per game allowed.
Golden State Warriors
The Warriors suffered a 123-95 drubbing at the hands of the Memphis Grizzlies in their last outing. Jordan Poole had another big game with 25 points while rookie Moses Moody scored 18 off the bench to lead the Warriors’ losing effort. Fellow rookie Jonathan Kuminga had 15 points and 7 rebounds in 35 minutes of action and Andrew Wiggins added 10 points and 6 rebounds.
Golden State is the 5th best defensive team in the NBA at 105. 7 points per game allowed. The Dubs are 13th in the league in scoring at 110.8 points per game and are 9th in rebounding at 45.5 boards grabbed per contest. The Warriors are also 5th in the league in passing at 26.9 assists per game.
Who Wins?
Phoenix is 8-0 SU in their last eight games played. The Suns are 7-0 SU in their last seven games played on the road, 36-9 SU in 45 games against Western Conference teams, 18-3 SU in 21 road games against Western Conference opponents, and 8-4 SU against the Pacific Division.
Golden State is 1-6 SU in their last seven games played. The Warriors are 1-6 SU in their last seven games played on March, 28-18 SU against their Western Conference rivals, 17-6 SU in 23 games against Western Conference teams, and 10-3 SU in 13 games against the Pacific Division.
Head to head, the Warriors are 14-6 SU in their last 20 games against the Suns. Golden State is also 17-2 SU in their last 19 home games against Phoenix.
If this game were played last December, it would have been a can’t miss game. Back then, the Suns and Warriors were going back and forth on top of the league standings as the top two teams in the league. A lot has happened since then. The Dubs lost Draymond Green earlier this year and they dropped to third in the West standings. Shortly after Green came back, it was Steph Curry’s turn to hit the injured list and the Warriors haven’t been the same.
Golden State has won just once in their last seven games played and they are in danger of being caught by the Dallas Mavericks, Utah Jazz, or even Denver Nuggets in the standings if they continue to struggle. With Curry not expected to be back soon, Golden State will be at a big disadvantage here.
Meanwhile, the Suns continue to shine despite already clinching the top seed in the playoffs. Phoenix is up 8.5 games on the 2nd seeded Grizzlies with only six games left to play for Memphis. That said, there’s a possibility that Monty Williams could take his foot off the gas pedal. But then maybe not. Phoenix is coming off consecutive wins over the Timberwolves, Nuggets, and Sixers and it looks like they want to go for the franchise record for most wins in a season. Or then again, maybe they want to remain sharp when the playoffs begin. Regardless, Phoenix beats a Warriors team minus Steph Curry.
Prediction: Phoenix Suns
Other Bets to Make
The Suns are 7-1 ATS in their last eight games played. Phoenix is 23-13 ATS in 39 road games played this season, 4-0 ATS in their last four Wednesday games, 4-0 ATS in their last four games against an opponent with a winning straight up record, 7-1 ATS in their last eight games after scoring 100 or more points in their previous game, 6-1 ATS in their last seven games after a straight-up win, 5-1 ATS in their last six games after an ATS win, 5-1 ATS in their last six as betting favorites, and 4-1 ATS in their last five road games against an opponent with a winning home record.
The Warriors are 1-6 ATS in their last seven games played. Golden State is 1-4 ATS in their last five games against the Pacific Division, 3-8 ATS in their last 11 home games, 1-4 ATS in their last five games after an ATS loss, 1-4 ATS in their last five games after a straight-up loss, 1-5 ATS in their last six Wednesday games, 0-6 ATS in their last six games against a team with a winning percentage better than .600, 0-5 ATS in their last five games after a straight-up loss of more than 10 points, 0-6 ATS in their last six games when allowing more than 100 points in their previous game, and 0-4 ATS in their last four games when playing on one day rest.
Suns
-5.5 (-110)
Warriors
+5.5 (-110)
Odds from BetOnline as of 03/30/2022
The Warriors have beaten the Suns twice in three meetings this season by at least a nine-point margin. However, those wins came with Steph Curry on the floor for the Dubs. Curry has not played in the Warriors’ last seven games and they are 1-6 ATS during that span. In short, the Warriors are reeling right now and Curry isn’t returning soon.
Meanwhile, the Suns have clinched the top seed in the entire 2022 NBA playoffs. But the Suns aren’t letting up. They are coming off wins over playoff-bound teams in the Timberwolves, Nuggets, and Sixers, beating those three teams by a double-digit win margin average. Phoenix has won eight in a row with seven coming by margins of 9 or more points.
The Suns aren’t just winning right now. They are dominating the opposition and look like a cut above the rest of the league. Golden State would’ve been a great opponent if Steph were around. But he’s not and the Suns should be able to cover this low 5.5 point spread. Any spread below double-digits should be okay. Prediction: Phoenix Suns -5.5
The total has gone over in seven out of the last nine games played by the Suns. The over is 6-0 in their last six games against the Western Conference, 5-0 in their last five road games, 5-1 in their last six games as road favorites, 7-1 in their last eight games when their opponent allows 100 points or more in their previous game, 14-3-1 in their last 18 games when playing on two days rest, 16-5 in their last 21 games after a straight up win, 6-2 in their last eight games after an ATS win, and 7-2 in their last nine games after scoring 100 or more points in their previous game.
The total has gone over in 9 out of the Warriors’ last 14 games played. The over is 10-4 in their last 14 games when playing on one day rest, 9-4-1 in their last 14 games after a straight up loss, 10-3-1 ATS in their last 14 games after an ATS loss, 4-1 in their last five games when their opponent scores 100 or more points in their previous game, 4-2 in their last six Wednesday home games, and 5-2 in their last seven games against an opponent with a winning percentage better than .600.
Over
224.5 (-110)
Under
224.5 (-110)
Odds from BetOnline as of 03/30/2022
The Suns have been on fire offensively during their current 8-game winning streak, scoring at least 125 points in seven of those games. That said, the total of 224.5 might be too low for this game.
Golden State has struggled to go over 100 points in three out of their last seven games played but the Dubs scored at least 110 points in three straight games before they were shut down to 95 points by the Grizzlies.
Defensively, Phoenix has allowed at least 110 points in six out of their last nine games and they have hit over 224.5 points eight times in their last nine games played. These are two Top 10 scoring defenses facing each other but the over has hit in six out of their combined last eight games played.
Prediction: Over 224.5