What do you get when you put 2 of the worst teams in the NBA on the same court? You get a match between Phoenix Suns and New York Knicks which will take place on Match 7th at Talking Stick Resort Arena, the home of Phoenix Suns.
Phoenix Suns, the worst team in the West are sitting at 15th spot with an overall record of 14-51 and a 3-2 record in their last 5 matches. As a team that did not impress anyone this season, Suns have managed to achieve the unthinkable on Monday. They have defeated Milwaukee Bucks in a 114:105 match, which was their 2nd consecutive win. Only 2 days prior, Suns managed to defeat Los Angeles Lakers (118:109), which seemingly gave them the confidence to go against the leading team in the East. Looking at their last 5 matches, Suns also managed to win against Miami Heat (121:124) while they were defeated by Atlanta Hawks (120:112) and New Orleans Pelicans (116:130). Much of their good performances should be credited to Devin Booker who has been a key player for Suns this season and I do expect him to shine tonight once more.
On the other side, we have Knicks who are sitting at the bottom of the Eastern Conference with a 13-51 record. Things looked better for them after 2 consecutive wins against San Antonio Spurs (130:118) and Orlando Magic (108:103), however, Knicks failed to perform in all the 3 matches that followed, when they lost to Cleveland Cavaliers (118:125), Los Angeles Clippers (128:107) and Sacramento Kings (115:108) on Tuesday. In the most recent match against Kings, New York Knicks were playing fairly good. Despite not being able to win, Knicks gave Kings a run for their money in all of the last 3 quarters.
New York Knicks remain without Hezonja and Ntilikina and have DeAndre Jordan listed as probable to appear tonight. Phoenix Suns will only miss Warren.
Suns are not surprisingly a favorite to win this one after their performance against Bucks on Tuesday, but to be fair I believe both teams are equally capable of winning tonight. As far as the Suns home court advantage goes, let me remind you that Phoenix Suns are 9-23 this season at Talking Stick Resort Arena. Despite the fact they won against Lakers and Bucks here in the last 2 home matches, I am not too convinced they will have an easy time against Knicks. New York Knicks on the other side are 7-26 travelers, but I saw some bright spots in their show against Kings on Tuesday, so I’ll give the benefit of the doubt they can perform just as well against Suns. There is in my opinion little to separate these two teams, which is why we will avoid the AH bet in this betting preview. Instead, we will look at over/under market. Both teams have performed well in their recent matches, and I do believe their drive will translate into tonight’s match. Being that we will look at two teams who have one of the worst defences in the league we expect to see plenty of open shots on both sides and with the pace these two teams play, I would be surprised if the match does not end up in high numbers.
Prediction: New York Knicks +4.00 Points
Odds: 1.985 Pinnacle
