Game: Phoenix Suns @ San Antonio Spurs
Time: 8:30 p.m. ET
Odds: Suns -5, Spurs +5
Total: 225
The Suns will look to go 4-0 in their current five-game road trip with a victory in San Antonio tonight. Phoenix is coming off a relatively easy 135-108 win in Detroit last night. The Suns continue to have the best record in the NBA (33-9) and they are ranked in the top 10 in both offensive and defensive efficiency.
The Suns’ opponent tonight, San Antonio, is at the other end of the spectrum. The Spurs rank in the bottom half of the NBA in offensive and defensive efficiency. A 101-94 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday broke a five-game losing streak. Over the course of that losing streak, the Spurs lost by an average of nine points a game.
The Spurs are led by Dejounte Murray who averages 19.1 points per game. Murray is fourth in the NBA in assists dishing out 8.9 per game and he leads the league in steals averaging 2.1 per game. Murray will go up against the Suns defense, which ranks No. 2 in defensive efficiency this season. Phoenix if fifth in points allowed per game (104.6). Phoenix has won six of its last seven games. They held their opponents to fewer than 100 points in four of the six wins.
On offense, the Suns are sixth in offensive efficiency and third in points per game (112.3). They are led by Devin Booker who averages 23.7 points per game. 7-footer Deandre Ayton has become a force scoring 17.1 points and grabbing 11 rebounds per game. Veteran guard Chris Paul is second in the league in assists averaging 10 per game, third in steals (2.0 spg), and he scores 14 points a game.
The Suns and Spurs have played twice already this season. Phoenix won both games and won by the exact same margin – four points – each time. The Suns have one of the best road records in the NBA this season. They are 16-4 away from home so far this season and they average 111.2 points per game on the road. Tonight’s game is the fourth of a six-game homestand for San Antonio. They are currently 1-2 after the first three games.
Phoenix is 5-2 ATS in its last seven games while the Spurs are 3-7 ATS in their last ten. Both teams are over .500 against the spread for the season. The Suns are 23-19 ATS and San Antonio is 23-20 ATS. As mentioned, the Suns score 111.2 on the road this season. The Spurs average 114.3 points a game at home, which is seven points more than they score on the road.
On defense, San Antonio allows 113 points a game at home. The first time these two teams played this season, they went Over the total. Phoenix won 115-111. In the most recent meeting on Dec. 6, the Suns won again 108-104. The Spurs scored just 15 points in the second quarter and both teams shot below 69 percent from the free-throw line. The total has gone Over in four of the last five Suns-Spurs games played in San Antonio.