San Antonio at Phoenix
Time: 9:30 PM CT, ESPN
Spread: PHO -7
Total: 214
Odds c/o 5dimes
The Phoenix Suns are mired in a five-game losing streak, but in rare fashion, the San Antonio Spurs may represent a great chance to break that pitiful streak. The Suns are 7-point favorites hosting Gregg Popovich’s Spurs at 9:30 PM (CT) on ESPN Wednesday night. The game has an over/under of 214, which is largely a reflection of the crawl-pace the Spurs seek to employ. Given Phoenix’s lack of point guard play, the Spurs may effectively slow this one down, so keep that in mind if betting the point total in this affair.
PHX
The Suns are still a team with absolutely abysmal team defense. It surrenders 117.8 points per game, good for No. 25 in the Association. What makes it more problematic is that its offense is not producing at the clip it hoped, either. Phoenix averages just 105.7 points per game, which is the fourth-worst mark in the NBA. Amazingly, the Suns rank No. 6 in assists with 25.8 assisted baskets per night, but the stat seems so anomalous in light of how poor the Suns have been overall offensively.
Part of the cause is the deft passing of No. 1 overall pick DeAndre Ayton, a center whose skill set has tantalized the Suns so far with his massive potential. It seems pairing Ayton with the sharpshooting all-around playmaking of Devin Booker would give the Suns a bright future, but only if this team can find a way to defend much tighter than it has thus far.
Ayton, for his part, has been nothing short of amazing for a rookie. He is averaging 17.5 points, 10.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.34 blocks/steals per game while posting a team-high PER of 24.2. Booker has done his scoring antics with 27.8 points per game, and he has been lights out with his shot. Booker is shooting 50.7 percent from the field and 38.7 percent from three on 7.8 attempts per game. The Suns have a well-rounded team, but it is starting rookie Elie Okobo at point guard with Isaiah Canaan nursing some minor injuries.
There are no other 1s to speak of on the entire roster, a fact which more or less caps the Suns’ potential as a team. TJ Warren has evolved into one of the best swingmen defensively in the league, able to match up with bigger players and still having the speed to cover speedier swingmen. He also averages 15.2 points per game while shooting 51.4 percent from the field and an outstanding 47 percent from three.
SAN ANT
The Spurs are still 4-2 and atop the Southwest division, but it remains to be seen if this team can avoid regressing following the trade of do-it-all forward Kawhi Leonard. DeMar DeRozan is arguably as talented as Leonard on the offensive end, but he brings none of the lockdown abilities Leonard did as a defender. DeRozan is leading the team at 28.3 points per game, and he also averages eight assists per night, also leading the Spurs. LaMarcus Aldridge has been solid at a 20/10 clip nightly, and Rudy Gay is still a productive 3-man.
Where it gets dicey is later in the rotation. Pau Gasol has little left in his career, and after exiting the top five or six in the Spurs rotation, the roster is made up fo castaway no names. Gregg Popovich has made careers of such players, but whether he can do it again still is up in the air. San Antonio is also without point guard Derrick White, who should start when he returns in about a month.
San Antonio, then, may improve slightly, but it should count itself fortunate to be 4-2 because when this is over the Spurs will likely hover around .500. The team is no better than that on paper, and any striving towards a plus.-.500 season will be mostly attributed to the ingenious coaching of Popovich, who continues to get blood from oranges with a roster mostly lacking premier players.
