Phoenix Suns at Golden State Warriors
Time: 10:35 PM EST
TV: TNT
Spread: GSW -13
Total: 210
Betting odds c/o Bovada
The Phoenix Suns have all but fallen out of playoff contention while the Golden State Warriors have clinched the Western Conference. That makes tonight’s nationally televised game little more than a tune up for the Warriors. The game will air at 10:35 PM (EST) on TNT.
NBA oddsmakers don’t expect the Warriors to go lightly however, setting the NBA live line 13-points in favor of Steve Kerr’s Warriors. The total is set precariously high at 210, and for an explanation of how to bet totals, please see our NBA odds explained.
The Warriors are 61-13, but as Draymond Green pointed out earlier, the band will likely be making its final tour this postseason. There is little chance the Warriors can return Green as well as all other key players, with the market dictating that Golden State will be priced out of its own rich roster. Even so, the key feature of the Warriors will be intact for some time to come.
Warriors guards Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson have been nothing short of incredible: The duo averages 44.5 points per game between them, while knocking down 6.6 threes per game between them. Curry posts a PER of 28.0, a testament to his ankle breaking, guard destroying play this season. Thompson, too, has proven quite unstoppable, posting a 20.9 PER of his own while continually proving himself to be a far better defender than most realize (see: 1.94 steals/blocks per game, in addition to his solid on-ball defense).
Green’s stats are a little more humble, but his impact equally as profound. His 11.8 points and 6.7 rebounds per game hardly attest to the intangibles he brings, and the market may dictate that he’s in for a max-contract this offseason. The Warriors are not short on scoring options despite its third leading scorer averaging less than 12 per. Marreese Speights puts up nearly 11 points per game in just 16 minutes off the bench, while the high flying swingman Harrison Barnes has plateaued, but is still having a very solid season. Barnes averages 10.3 points per game in 28 minutes a night, but his defensive impact is huge, much like Green’s. The Warriors receive the notoriety for its offense, but its ‘D’ is just as suffocating.
The Suns are still one game above .500; but that doesn’t cut it in the West. In the East, the Suns may be the second or third best team in the Conference (perhaps no lower than fourth, to be realistic). Perplexingly, the team dealt Isaiah Thomas to the Celtics at the trade deadline, while also jettisoning free agent to-be Goran Dragic. Left in their wake is Eric Bledsoe.
While Bledsoe is a solid player, he is on a max-contract, and he’s not really a max-contract type of talent. The former Kentucky Wildcat is having a solid season, scoring 17.2 points and dishing six assists per game, but he’s not enough to keep the Suns relevant in the West.
Markieff Morris has emerged as one of the better stretch-4s in the league and made Channing Frye entirely expendable, much to the Orlando Magic’s chagrin (he’s underperformed and hasn’t really added much in Orlando). The Suns did acquire Brandon Knight, but he’s been mediocre since coming to Phoenix. He’s also likely to miss this contest after missing Monday’s game with a heel injury.
Compounding that, center Alex Len broke his nose and will miss this game as well. The Suns really don’t have any reason to push either into action with nothing on the line, which is a good reason to expect the Dubs to tear into the Suns in this game. While the 13-point spread seems hefty, the Warriors aim to please at its own venue, the Oracle.
Bettors will be very wise to consider the Warriors covering this spread, playing against a hobbled and aimless Suns team that is mostly hoping NBA commissioner Adam Silver does something to fix the NBA playoff issue, because in the East, this is a contending team.
