The Phoenix Suns head to the Pepsi Center to take on the Denver Nuggets. The game starts at 9:00 pm ET on Friday, Nov. 20 and will air on ALT and FAZ.
The Nuggets lost to the Spurs 109-98 on Wednesday. Nikola Jokic played well in the loss for Denver, recording 23 points and 12 rebounds to earn his first double-double of the season. The Suns, meanwhile, are coming off a 103-97 loss at the hands of the Bulls on Wednesday. P.J. Tucker posted 20 points and seven rebounds.
Over the last five games, Eric Bledsoe has been on a tear for the Suns. During that stretch, he has averaged 25.2 points, 5.2 rebounds, 6.8 assists, 1.6 steals, and 2.2 three-pointers.
This will be the second matchup of the season between these two teams. The Suns won the first game 105-81. Bledsoe scored a game-high 30 points.
The Nuggets are a slight underdog, with Phoenix favored by two. The Over/Under (O/U) is 206 points. The Nuggets look to improve upon their records of 6-6 Straight Up (SU) and 7-5 Against The Spread (ATS). They have a record of 5-6 SU and 7-4 ATS versus the Western Conference.
On the other side, Phoenix has a SU record of 6-5 and an ATS record of 7-4. In Western Conference games, Phoenix has gone 6-3 SU and 7-2 ATS. The Suns rank fourth in the league in scoring, averaging 105.0 points per game. Phoenix is one of the better rebounding teams in the NBA. The Suns average 47.9 rebounds per game, making them the third-best team in the league for that category.
The Suns’ win over Denver in their last clash moved their SU record in the last 10 against Denver to 7-3. Additionally, the Suns lead the matchup ATS with a record of 7-3.
Predictions: SU Winner – Pho, ATS Winner – Pho, O/U – Under
Notes
Denver is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games.
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Denver’s last 7 games.
Denver is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games at home.
Denver is 1-7 SU in its last 8 games when playing Phoenix.
Denver is 1-7 ATS in its last 8 games when playing Phoenix.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Denver’s last 6 games when playing Phoenix.
Denver is 11-4 SU in its last 15 games when playing at home against Phoenix.
Denver ranks 20th in points per game with 99.7, while Phoenix ranks 15th in points allowed with an average of 100.5 given up.
On average, Denver puts up 96.0 points per home game (ranked 24th), while Phoenix allows 105.3 points per away game (ranked 22nd).
When allowing fewer than 100 points, Denver has a 3-2 record this season. Phoenix is winless (0-4) when scoring fewer than 100 points.
Denver is 3-4 when allowing 100 or more points this season. The Suns have a formidable 6-1 record when they hit the century mark.
The Nuggets have an offensive rating of 101.5 (ranked 16th). The Suns rank 12th for their defensive rating of 99.9.
With 98.2 possessions and 1.015 points per possession, the Denver Nuggets perform worse on both metrics than the Phoenix Suns. Phoenix averages 103.4 possessions and 1.016 points per possession.
The Denver Nuggets average an effective field goal percentage of 48.0% this season. The Phoenix Suns have a losing record of 3-5 when opponents have an EFF% of 48.0% or greater.
Denver makes an average of 22.2 assists per game (ranked 11th), while Phoenix makes 19.1 assists per game (ranked 25th).
The Denver Nuggets average 5.8 blocks per game for a rank of ninth. The Phoenix Suns rank lower (28th), earning 3.5 blocks each game.
The Denver Nuggets are a top-15 offensive rebounding team, currently ranked sixth for the season. The Phoenix Suns rank near the very top (fourth) in defensive rebounding.
The Phoenix Suns earn an average of 9.4 steals per game and are ranked sixth. The Denver Nuggets have a 3-2 record when they allow at least 9 steals.
