This doesn’t feel like the San Antonio Spurs team we’ve been accustomed to seeing over the past several seasons. And that’s because it isn’t. The Spurs have survived without former defensive player of the year Kawhi Leonard, who has played in just nine games this season. Tony Parker missed a number of games with injuries and he’s now in a reserve role. Still, the Spurs are hanging around at the top of the Western Conference and go for the season sweep of the Phoenix Suns when the teams meet for the fourth time.
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Odds Analysis
During their two-decade run of 50-plus win seasons, the Spurs have been a good road team. That hasn’t been the case this season as they are 12-15 SU and 11-15-1 ATS. And the Spurs open a season-long six-game road trip in the desert on Wednesday night. There could be worse opponents for the Spurs to open a long trip against. San Antonio has won three straight and 12 of the last 13 games in the series going 8-4-1 ATS in that span.
Another long season has gotten even longer with the Suns enduring a stretch where they’ve lost seven of eight games and 10 of their last 12. Phoenix is 18-36 overall, just one win better than Sacramento and Dallas for last place in the Western Conference. The Suns are an NBA anomaly as their road record is better than at home. They’ve won just nine times in Phoenix and are 11-16-1 ATS.
Key Stat
98.0 – Even with the loss of Leonard, who anchored the team’s defense the past several seasons, the Spurs are the best in the Association in points allowed. San Antonio allows just 98 points per game, partly due to their cautious approach on the offensive end, but also because they play an organized style and rarely get caught out of position.
Their defensive rating of 101.6 is second in the league to the Celtics and nearly two points lower than third-place Toronto. The Spurs excelled on that end of the floor against the Suns in three games this season, holding them to an average of 95 points and not allowing more than 101 in any contest while cashing the under all three times.
Scheduling Situation
The Suns finish off a stretch of three games in four nights and they’ll be playing the second of a back-to-back when they host the Spurs on Wednesday. Phoenix let one slip away Sunday, blowing a 21-point second-half lead and looking fatigued in the process. Charlotte’s bench outscored their Suns counterparts 45-27 in that contest.
Phoenix is off to L.A. for a matchup with the Lakers on Tuesday before returning to the desert to face the Spurs. Phoenix has lost all three matchups to San Antonio this season and has dropped 12 of 13 dating back to the 2014-15 season.
The Suns are 1-5 SU and 3-3 ATS in the second of their last six back-to-backs while going 4-7 SU and 6-5 ATS overall.
Free NBA ATS Picks
The Spurs seem to be more vulnerable this season than in any of the past years under Gregg Popovich. But they are still one of the best in the NBA thanks to LaMarcus Aldridge, who has taken the reins with Leonard sidelined. Aldridge is having a season similar to the ones he had in Portland before making the move to Texas.
And Pop has allowed LA to do what he does best. He’s a beast when he posts up and is deadly from around the bucket. He has been the offense for the Spurs and even when opposing teams know what’s coming, they are powerless to stop him. Aldridge dropped 30 last time out, the 10th time this season he’s had at least that many in a game.
The Suns lost leading scorer Devin Booker to an injury on Sunday and his status is questionable moving forward. They’ve had trouble penetrating San Antonio’s defense this season and it will be tougher if Booker isn’t available.
NBA Odds: Spurs 107, Suns 99
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