Now is not the time for the Phoenix Suns to start slumping. Even though they’ve locked up the best record in the NBA and own homecourt advantage throughout the postseason, they’d rather be playing their best ball of the season at this point, but for the first time in over a month and only the third time this season they have a losing streak after falling to OKC on Sunday. The Suns look to close the season strong when they visit the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night in the second game of ESPN’s doubleheader.
The NBA game between the Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Clippers will air live on ESPN with tip off at 10 p.m. ET on Wednesday, April 6, 2022 from Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. BookMaker.eu will have betting options for every game on the NBA schedule.
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Odds Analysis
The Suns have been so good all season that a two-game losing streak is alarming. Consecutive setbacks to Memphis and OKC saddled Phoenix with its third slide of the season, though they’ve yet to drop three in a row. They will host the Lakers on Tuesday before completing the back to back against the LA squads. You can’t blame them for cruising to the finish line. In Sunday’s loss the club rested leading scorer Devin Booker and had its worst offensive output in two months in the 117-96 loss. The Suns were a 14-point favorite in that contest dropping their third straight ATS. The Suns have been good in the second of back-to-backs this season going 10-2 SU and 7-5 ATS. They won and covered each of the last three such games, all on the road.
Things are looking up for the Clippers, comparatively speaking. Some had them as a championship contender at the start of the season, before it was learned Kawhi Leonard would miss the campaign and Paul George missed significant chunks of time due to injuries. They hung around playing .500 ball for most of the season and with just a handful of games remaining they’ve locked up the No. 8 seed in the play-in tournament. George’s return provides some optimism. In his first game since before Christmas George scored 34 points in a comeback win over Utah sparking a run. Consecutive wins over Milwaukee and New Orleans gave them three wins in four games with three payouts included. Overall the Clippers are 39-40 SU and ATS.
Phoenix Suns
This mini slump is most likely just that. There really isn’t any more than Suns can do or need to prove ahead of the postseason so losing two straight games isn’t a complete surprise. And we saw signs that the club is getting ready for the postseason with Booker sitting out the OKC game. The offense sputtered with his 26.6 points per game on the sideline managing the smallest output since scoring 95 points in a win over Washington 26 games ago. They also failed to cover the line in a third straight contest falling to 42-36 ATS.
Now is not the time to get complacent and Monty Williams is aware of that. “We’ve got to get back to playing our kind of basketball,” the coach said. It’s a tricky situation for Williams balancing giving is guys rest while playing the second of a back-to-back set.
Los Angeles Clippers
There’s a little more optimism with the Clippers now that George has returned. In his first game back after missing three months with an elbow injury, they overcame a 25-point deficit to beat Utah with George dropping 34 points. The Clips are 3-1 SU and ATS since PG13 rejoined the club, though he sat out a 153-119 thumping of the Bucks as part of his load management routine. Turns out he wasn’t needed in that game with Robert Covington, a mid-season acquisition, going for a career-high 43 points.
Being without two of the league’s top players the Clippers have developed roles and chemistry. They’ve had multiple comebacks from 20 or more points this season without relying on one player. Over their last six games six different players led them in scoring. Marcus Morris led seven players in double figures in Sunday’s win with 22 points as the Clips covered 2-point spread for their second straight win and payout.
Suns at Clippers NBA Odds Pick
While the Suns play the second of a back-to-back the Clippers had a few days off giving George and the rest of the group time to rest. And George needs some run time to get in basketball shape after a three-month injury layoff. That will make the Clips competitive and the clubs have played close low-scoring games this season. Expect another on Wednesday.
NBA Odds Prediction: Los Angeles Clippers / UNDER
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