The Phoenix Suns (42-17 SU, 36-22-1 ATS) take on the Brooklyn Nets (40-20 SU, 30-30 ATS) for the second time this season on Sunday afternoon. The Nets won the first matchup 128-124 on the back of a 38 point, 11 rebound performance by James Harden.
- Date/Time: April 25, 3:30 p.m. ET
- Arena: Barclays Center
- TV Coverage: ESPN
- Sportsbook Odds: Nets -2.5 | O/U 227.5 (Line History)
- Suns vs Nets Matchup Report
Sportsbook Odds Analysis
The game opened with the Nets as favorites at -2.5 and the line has not moved as of Saturday night. The total opened at 227.5 and already moved to 229.5 within hours of the lines being posted.
Phoenix News & Notes
The Phoenix Suns have had a breakout season and sit in second in the Western Conference heading into the final weeks.
One of the best offensive teams in the league, the Suns rank tenth in the league in three-point percentage, second in field goal percentage and second in free throw percentage. The Suns are also seventh in the league in offensive rating and fifth in assist percentage. This is simply an elite offensive team.
The trio of Devin Booker, Chris Paul and Deandre Ayton lead the team offensively with Booker being the most prolific scorer. Booker is 16th in the league in scoring averaging 25.1 points along with 4.5 assists and 4.2 rebounds. In his 16th season, the ageless Chris Paul is averaging 16 points and 8.8 rebounds – not far from his career averages of 18.3 points and 9.4 assists.
On the injury front, the Suns are relatively healthy but are without small forward Jae Crowder who is ruled out for Sunday.
Brooklyn News & Notes
The only team with a better field goal percentage and free throw percentage than the Suns this season is the Brooklyn Nets. The Nets are also ranked sixth in net rating, fourth in three-point percentage and second in points per game. With a trio of bona fide superstars, the Nets are the top team in the Eastern Conference for good reason.
The last time these teams played, James Harden did not have the help of his star teammates as both Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant missed the game. Harden’s 38 points in that game let both teams and was one of six 35+ point performances for the veteran.
Unfortunately for the Nets, they may again be without two of their three stars in this meeting with Phoenix as Harden is out indefinitely with a hamstring injury and Durant is questionable with a thigh injury. The injuries don’t stop there as Tyler Johnson, Alize Johnson and Nicholas Claxton are also questionable for Sunday’s game.
Betting Pick: Suns +2.5
The Nets are too banged up right now to bet on with confidence. The Suns are healthy and might be as good as the Nets anyway. We don’t have confidence that Kyrie Irving can pull off what James Harden did when these teams met in February. Suns plus the points is an easy bet.
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Buy Sports Picks Now- The OVER is 10-4 in the Suns' last 14 games.
- Phoenix is 13-3 SU in its last 16 games.
- Brooklyn is 12-6 SU in its last 18 games.
