Phoenix Suns vs. Oklahoma City Thunder Prediction, Preview, and Odds - 3-29-2024
Can the Thunder remain in the hunt for the top spot in the Western Conference with a win over Phoenix on Friday night? The Phoenix Suns are set to play against the Oklahoma City Thunder in a crucial Western Conference showdown. The Suns are currently seventh in the Western Conference standings and trail sixth-place Dallas by just a game in the loss column. The Thunder are currently tied for the top spot with both the Nuggets and Timberwolves. The opening time is set at 8:10pm EST. Despite being projected as one of the favorites to secure a top seed in the NBA, the Suns have struggled with injuries to key players such as Bradley Beal, Kevin Durant, and Devin Booker. With just nine games remaining on their schedule, they are fighting to avoid the play-in round of the Western conference playoffs. The game will be previewed at 3-29-2024.
Publié : il y a 4 semaines par dans Sports
There will be a critical Western Conference showdown with playoff-seeding ramifications on Friday night as the Phoenix Suns visit the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Suns are currently seventh in the Western Conference standings and trail sixth-place Dallas by just a game in the loss column. The Thunder are currently tied in the loss column with both the Nuggets and Timberwolves for the top spot in the conference. The opening tap for this matchup is scheduled for 8:10 PM EST. For your daily picks in Major League Baseball, College Football Picks, the NHL, all the NBA Picks, and all NFL action, check out all my premium picks with at least two per day. My Best Bet of the Week can be as low as $24.99 (usually $50) if you use this link. Take advantage of this as this comes with a profit guarantee. Win or get the money back in credit! Claim the best betting offers available from all the top sportsbooks.
The Phoenix Suns were projected as one of the favorites to end with a top seed in the Western Conference when the season began. The addition of veteran all-star Bradley Beal gave the Suns one of the more potent lineups in the NBA. Unfortunately, the Suns' Big Three of Beal, Kevin Durant, and Devin Booker have not been on the floor together nearly as often as the team would hope due to various injuries. Now, with just nine games remaining on their schedule, the Suns are fighting to avoid the play-in round of the Western Conference playoffs. On Wednesday night, one night after losing at home to the lowly Spurs, the Suns beat the Denver Nuggets 104-97 behind Kevin Durant's 30 points, 13 rebounds, and five blocked shots. The Suns have now beaten the Nuggets twice in March. The Phoenix Suns were projected as one of the favorites to end with a top seed in the Western Conference when the season began. The addition of veteran all-star Bradley Beal gave the Suns one of the more potent lineups in the NBA. Unfortunately, the Suns' Big Three of Beal, Kevin Durant, and Devin Booker have not been on the floor together nearly as often as the team would hope due to various injuries. Now, with just nine games remaining on their schedule, the Suns are fighting to avoid the play-in round of the Western Conference playoffs. On Wednesday night, one night after losing at home to the lowly Spurs, the Suns beat the Denver Nuggets 104-97 behind Kevin Durant's 30 points, 13 rebounds, and five blocked shots. The Suns have now beaten the Nuggets twice in March. “I’m glad we didn’t let that San Antonio game bleed over to the next game,” Durant said about the Suns' road loss Monday night to a Spurs team without rookie sensation Victor Wembanyama. The Suns have the toughest schedule remaining of the playoff hopefuls in the Western Conference so they'll need to be at their best. Phoenix is 10th in the NBA in scoring heading into OKC. The Suns are fourth in field goal percentage and fifth in 3-point field goal percentage. They are, however, just 20th in 3-point field goals made per game. On the defensive end, the Suns are 16th in scoring defense on the season. They are seventh in field goal defense and 13th in 3-point defense. The Suns have improved as a rebounding team this year, ranking 7th in the NBA in total rebounds per game. They are, however, just 25th in fewest turnovers per game as they adjust to life without a true point guard in the starting five. Key Injuries: C Jusaf Nurkic (ankle) missed Wednesday's game and is questionable for this contest. Want more picks for the NBA? Go here for more NBA Free Picks and get the best picks.
The OKC Thunder remain way ahead of schedule as they battle for the top spot in the Western Conference with defending champion Denver as well as the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Thunder come into this matchup with Phoenix having won 7 out of their last 10 games but that includes an overtime loss to Houston on Wednesday night at home, 132-126. The Thunder played the game without All-Star guard and leading scorer Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who was out with a bruised thigh. Still, the Thunder held a five-point lead heading into the fourth quarter before the Rockets stormed back to tie it. The weary Thunder, playing on the second night of a back-to-back, allowed 20 Rockets' points in the OT to take the loss. Josh Giddey led the Thunder with 31 points while Jalen Williams had 23 points and 10 assists in the disappointing loss. The OKC Thunder remain way ahead of schedule as they battle for the top spot in the Western Conference with defending champion Denver as well as the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Thunder come into this matchup with Phoenix having won 7 out of their last 10 games but that includes an overtime loss to Houston on Wednesday night at home, 132-126. The Thunder played the game without All-Star guard and leading scorer Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who was out with a bruised thigh. Still, the Thunder held a five-point lead heading into the fourth quarter before the Rockets stormed back to tie it. The weary Thunder, playing on the second night of a back-to-back, allowed 20 Rockets' points in the OT to take the loss. Josh Giddey led the Thunder with 31 points while Jalen Williams had 23 points and 10 assists in the disappointing loss. “Every night, there’s a combination of things you can control and things you can’t,” he said. “You want to be a team that looks at the stuff you can control. We just never want to turn a page and chalk an entire game up to luck or shot-making or refs or anything like that. You want a team that takes full accountability for what we can. We do that after wins, we do that after losses and we’ll do that after this one.” Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault said while not making excuses for the loss. There won't be any room for error for the Thunder when they welcome in old friend Kevin Durant and the Suns on Friday night. The Thunder will be playing their third game in four nights but will have Gilgeous-Alexander back in the fold. For the season, the Thunder are 4th in the NBA in scoring. They are an impressive third in field goal shooting and second in 3-point shooting. The Thunder are 10th in the NBA in 3-point field goals made per game. On the defensive end, the Thunder are 13th in the NBA in scoring defense. They are 3rd in field goal defense and 14th in 3-point defense. The team's weak point is rebounding as they rank just 28th in the league in total rebounds per game. The Thundre are an impressive sixth in the NBA in fewest turnovers per game.
Best Bets for this Game
The Thunder are winning still but the grind is certainly taking away some of their dominant play from earlier this season. Despite going 7-3 in their last ten games, the Thunder are just 3-7 ATS in those ten contests. They now face a desperate Suns team that is coming off a critical win over the Nuggets. The Suns present a size problem for the Thunder with Durant one of the best low-post scorers in the game. Nurkic should return as well on Friday night which will give the Suns even more of an edge on the glass against what could be a weary Thunder team playing their third game in four nights. The Suns are rested and ready to go and need this win to avoid having to play extra games in the playoffs. This is just the third meeting between the two teams this season but the first in which the Suns are nearly at full strength. The Thunder have taken each of the previous two games but the Suns are now healthy and have a lot at stake. I think that is enough motivation for this veteran team to keep this game tight and possibly steal it late. Take the Suns with the points. Want a second opinion on this pick? This game pits two of the NBA's best-scoring teams on Friday night. The Suns are 10th in the NBA in scoring while the Thunder are fourth in the league. These two teams combined to score 228 points at the start of this month. Both teams will be healthy heading into this matchup and each is in the top five in field goal percentage in the NBA. The Thunder will try to play fast, they rank 7th in pace of play and sixth in fastbreak points. Phoenix prefers a slightly slower pace but don't discount the fact that the Thunder will be playing their third game in four nights. The Suns could take advantage of their tired legs.
Les sujets: Basketball, NBA, Oklahoma City Thunder, Phoenix Suns