The Phoenix Suns go on the road and travel to Hoosier State to take on the Indiana Pacers in Tuesday night of basketball action at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indiana.
Phoenix is coming off an upset win over the Denver Nuggets last Saturday while the Pacers are fresh off a January 11 win over the New York Knicks.
Wins have been hard to find for the Phoenix Suns this season and they need not look far to find the reason. Phoenix has struggled with consistency problems all season long as they are only 3-7 in the games immediately following their previous 10 victories. Those three wins came during a rare four game winning streak last month. But after an upset win over the Denver Nuggets last Saturday, the Suns hope to get on a roll this week.
Devin Booker leads the Suns with 24.8 points and 6.9 assists per game. Rookie DeAndre Ayton leads Phoenix with 10.7 rebounds per game while scoring 16.6 points per contest. T.J. Warren is putting up 18.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game. Newcomer Kelly Oubre has been a spark for the Suns. Oubre is averaging 13.2 points per game this season.
Phoenix has the 5th lowest scoring average in the league at 106.1 points per game scored. The Suns are 17th in passing with 24.1 assists per game and are next to last in rebounding at #29 with 40.4 rebounds per game. They are also just 25th in scoring defense at 114.3 points per game allowed.
The Indiana Pacers continue to roll as the season progresses. Indiana has won eight out of their last 11 games played and their losses have during that period have come against the Raptors (twice) and Celtics (once). With Phoenix not in the caliber of either Toronto and Boston, Indiana gets a break playing the Suns on Tuesday.
Victor Oladipo leads Indiana with 19.8 points per game. ‘Dipo is also averaging 5.8 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.7 steals per game. Bojan Bogdanovic is adding 16.2 points and 4.0 rebounds while Domantas Sabonis is having a near double-double season with 15.2 points and 9.7 rebounds per game. Darren Collison leads Indiana with 5.6 assists per game while also scoring 9.1 markers per contest.
Indiana is the second best defensive team in the league with their 103.1 points per game allowed. The Pacers are ranked only 21st in scoring at 108.4 points per game and they are also 7th in passing at 25.8 assists per game. Indiana ranks 23rd in rebounding at 43.5 boards per contest.
Phoenix is 2-7 SU in their last nine games played. The Suns are 4-16 SU in their last 20 road games. Indiana is 8-2 SU in their last 10 games played and are 3-0 SU in their last three home games played. Head to head, the Pacers are 6-1 SU in their last seven games against the Suns but the Suns are 9-4 SU in their last 13 meetings against the Pacers in Indiana.
The Suns head to Indiana with their confidence at a high following their 102-93 upset of the Western Conference leaders Denver Nuggets in Phoenix last Saturday. Devin Booker is expected to return after a three game absence due to back issues. While he was away, Kelly Oubre played well, scoring 26 points in each of Phoenix’s last two wins.
On the side of Indiana, the Pacers have played without Myles Turner in their last four games with a shoulder problem. Turner is listed as probable for this game but if he is a no-go, backup T.J. Leaf will get the minutes again. Leaf scored just a total of 42 points before Turner got hurt. He’s scored 23 in his last three games. Victor Oladipo seems to have gotten his rhythm back after coming back from injury. The Pacers’ guard is shooting 48.2% while scoring 21.2 points per game in the month of January. Oladipo will be the Suns’ main problem.
I think the Pacers are too talented for the Suns right now. The Pacers don’t just rely on Oladipo to score for them. They have a very balanced scoring with guys like Sabonis, Bogdanovic and Collisson able to carry the load if needed. But Oladipo is healthy now and the Pacers are deadlier. Phoenix only has four road wins this season and I don’t think they will get a fifth here, even with Devin Booker playing. We’re picking the Indiana Pacers to beat the Phoenix Suns on 1/15/19.
Phoenix is 11-5 ATS in their last 16 games played and 5-0 ATS in their last five road games. Indiana is 1-5 ATS in their last six games played and 2-1 ATS in their last three home games. Head to head, the Suns are 11-5 ATS in their last 16 games against the Pacers and 6-2 ATS in their last eight games when playing on the road against Indiana.
The Suns are 6-0 ATS in their last six road games. 4-0 ATS in their last four games when playing on two days rest and 11-5 ATS in their last 16 games played. Indiana is 1-5 ATS in their last six games overall but 8-3 in their last 11 games against Pacific Division teams. The Pacers are also 0-4 ATS in their last four meetings versus the Suns and 2-6 ATS in their last 8 games against the Suns in Indiana. Devin Booker is expected to play here without minutes restrictions and with Kelly Oubre playing well, the Suns should be competitive here. I like the Pacers to win but not by double digits. Phoenix has also played well against the spread on the road. I’ll take my plus points and he underdogs here. Prediction: Suns +10
The total has gone under in four out of the last five games played by the Suns. The under is 7-3 in Phoenix’s last 10 road games. The Pacers’ have seen the total go over in their last five games played. The total has gone under in 5 out of Indiana’s last 6 games against Phoenix and also under in four out of the last six meetings between these team when playing in Indiana.
The over is 8-0 in the Pacers’ last eight games and the under is 4-1 the Suns’ last five games played. If Booker plays here, go with the over. If not, I think the teams will be hard-pressed to reach the total score. The latest news though is that Booker will play so I’ll go with the over. Prediction: Over 219
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