We’re back for round two of the Portland Phoenix matchup. Seeing these teams square off on Saturday in Portland, Phoenix is back for round two in the Pacific Northwest. Will the Suns come to play, or will Portland continue their impressive run with another W over Phoenix? Tipping off at 7:00 PM PT, this should be a solid game.
Matisse Thybulle Out
Robert Williams III Questionable
None
Portland has been on a surprising run recently, winning seven of its last eight games. This team has turned a corner. The odd thing is, to where? They’re still a bottom team in the West without much hope of climbing into the playoff race. This streak feels a bit odd; maybe it’s just the talent of this team finally bubbling up or a momentary hot streak. Regardless, they dominated the Suns in the last matchup, beating them by nearly 20 points.
It is a little strange that they aren’t closer to even odds, so the books don’t trust this young team. Though this is Phoenix on the other side, we’re talking about. A team that has been struggling on and off the court. This team has been in the middle of trade rumors for a month, and with the trade deadline looming, player will have that on their minds. With this team healthy, though, they should be competitive in this matchup, even though they were blown out last time.
Kevin Durant and Booker have been carrying this team as they struggle to find momentum. They have won six of their last ten, but that’s not enough to stay competitive in the West. They’ve slipped down to eight.
Portland will again present them with some real challenges. The defensive pairing of Deni Avdija and Toumani Camara will be challenging to overcome. While Deandre Ayton has been playing excellent basketball down low, the Suns will struggle on both fronts tonight.
Phoenix needs to improve its three-point shooting to win this game. In the last match, both teams shot nearly 30%. If the Suns can hit their jumpers, they’ll force Portland to do the same. The Suns' defense is their weakness, so they’ll need to move the ball out of the post and stick close to the rim. If they can do that, they'll have a shot and prevent Portland from getting easy bucks.
However, Portland has the momentum tonight, while Phoenix is still struggling. If we don’t see top-level performances out of Booker and KD tonight, the rest of the Suns roster has proven they can’t get it done. Expect another tough game, with Portland having a slight edge through their defense.
Money line: POR (+164) / PHO (-198)
Total Points: 228.5
Spread: +5 POR (-112) / -5 PHO (-108)
Portland is the value line tonight. Getting plus odds after killing the Suns a couple of nights ago while still being at home is solid. Being a young team, they could easily mess this one up, but Phoenix might be battling too many demons to come into tonight's game focused.
Considering how poorly these teams shot from three in the first matchup, and the score exceeded this number, it’s easy to see it going over again. If both teams continue to attack the paint effectively as they did but shoot closer to their season averages, this should be a high-scoring game.
Again, the spread should go to Portland. Five points isn’t a massive spread, but it doesn’t seem likely that Portland will be blown out tonight. This will likely be a close game.
Avdija has become the de facto leader of Portland. As one of the most effective players on both ends of the court, he could make a solid run tonight. He only had 10 points in the last game but only played 22 minutes in the blowout. Expecting tonight’s game to be a bit closer; he’ll likely have more time on the court.
Richardson has slotted right in as the starting center for Phoenix. He’s done a great job so far. With Robert Williams possibly out tonight, he could face Ayton a fair amount. If that’s the case, he should be able to find a couple of easy baskets to get him near the 10-point mark.
In Scoot's currency role, he’s become the team's lead playmaker. Chalking up 9 assists in the last game, he should be on a pass to hit the 6 mark easily. With his ability to attack the rim and set up lobs with Ayton and Clingan, he should have plenty of playmaking opportunities.
Despite having a solid scoring night against Portland with 37, he did turn the ball over 5 times. With Camara and Avdija has the point-of-attack defenders, they’ve done a great job slowing down elite guards.