Phoenix Suns at Minnesota Timberwolves
Time: 9:35 PM ET
TV: ESPN
Line: MIN -8
Total: 214.5
Betting Odds courtesy of 5dimes
The Phoenix Suns have been surprisingly good this season and are 20-13, but the team will find itself 8-point underdogs on the road in Minnesota tonight, as Kevin Love and the Timberwolves play host to the Suns.
Phoenix ranks 8th in the NBA in scoring (103.2 points per game) due largely in part to the backcourt brilliance of undersized backcourt Goran Dragic and Eric Bledsoe. While neither has the size to be a classical 2-guard, the duo has combined to average 36.9 points and 11.6 assists per game. The Suns get good contributions from its role players too, with athletic swingman Gerald Green averaging 13.4 points per game and stretch-4s Markieff Morris and Channing Frye both averaging double figures as well. Throw in the timely acquisition of a nice young talent in Miles Plumlee, and this Suns team could be back in contention much sooner than any anticipated.
The Suns will have an easy stretch of schedule following tonight’s contest which sees the team take on Memphis, Detroit and the L.A. Lakers. So, the opportunity is there for Suns to make another surge in the standings after having lost two of its past three.
Minnesota has one of the toughest front lines in the NBA with Nikola Pekovic and Kevin Love. Love is arguably the game’s most productive power forward, with averages of 26.4 points and 13.3 rebounds per game, and a PER of 28.4. Pekovic is huge, truly, and averages 18 points and nine rebounds per game. The Wolves are not good getting back in transition due to Love crashing the offensive boards and Pek’s lack of foot speed, but offensively, the duo is difficult to contend with.
The backcourt for Minnesota is also an intriguing one with the underrated but potent scorer Kevin Martin and Spaniard point guard Ricky Rubio. Corey Brewer has matured and is playing well in his second career stint as a Timberwolf. But the team lacks depth and struck out miserably on Derrick Williams with the No. 2 pick in the 2012 draft, while 2013 selection Shabazz Muhammed is honing his craft in the D-League. The Wolves are 17-17 in the league’s (much) more difficult Western Conference, but it’s hard to see what can change that fortune to take the team to the next level.
Suns Trends: 4-0 ATS in last 4 following SU loss; UNDER 7-0 in last 7 road games vs teams with winning percentages greater than .600; UNDER 4-0 in last 4 road games
Wolves Trends: OVER 4-0 in last 4 vs teams with winning percentages above .600; OVER 5-1-1 in last 7 overall; OVER 5-1 in last 6 after scoring more than 125 points in previous game.
Head-to-head: UNDER 5-1-1 in last 7 meetings in Minnesota; Suns 6-2 ATS in last 8 meetings in Minnesota.
