The Phoenix Suns will travel to the Smoothie King Center to square off against the New Orleans Pelicans. The game starts at 6:00 pm ET on Sunday, Nov. 22 and will air on FSN and FAZ.
The Pelicans were victorious over the Spurs 104-90 on Friday. Ryan Anderson was the game’s high scorer with 30 points on 12-for-21 shooting. The Suns, meanwhile, are coming off a 114-107 win over the Nuggets on Friday. Brandon Knight played well, accumulating 38 points and 11 rebounds to claim his second double-double of the season.
Knight has been on fire over the last five games for the Suns, averaging 27.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 1.6 steals, and 3.4 three-pointers.
Second-chance points might be scarce for New Orleans in this matchup. They rank 30th in the NBA in offensive rebounding (offensive rebound percentage of 18.6%), while the Suns are fourth-best in the league on the defensive glass (defensive rebound percentage of 79.2%).
The Pelicans are favored by a slight one-point margin in their matchup against Phoenix. Oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at 208 points. The Pelicans enter the game with records of 2-11 Straight Up (SU) and 4-9 Against The Spread (ATS). They have a record of 2-6 SU and 3-5 ATS versus the Western Conference. The Pelicans come into the game with the league’s third-ranked home scoring offense, averaging 108.5 points per game on their own court. New Orleans has been steady from the free throw line, shooting a stellar .791.
Across the court, the Suns head into the game with records of 8-4 ATS and 7-5 SU. Phoenix has records of 7-3 SU and 8-2 ATS against the West. The Suns rank third in the league in scoring, averaging 105.8 points per game. Phoenix is one of the top three-point shooting teams in the league, hitting .386 of their shots from three-point range. Phoenix is one of the better rebounding teams in the NBA. The Suns average 47.4 rebounds per game, making them the second-best team in the league for that category.
This is the first meeting of the season for the Pelicans and the Suns. The last time they played New Orleans came out on top, but the Suns still lead the head-to-head record over the last 10, 6-4 SU. The Pelicans hold the advantage ATS with a record of 7-3.
Predictions: SU Winner – Pho, ATS Winner – Pho, O/U – Under
Notes
New Orleans is 4-10 ATS in its last 14 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of New Orleans’s last 6 games.
New Orleans is 2-15 SU in its last 17 games.
New Orleans is 2-6 SU in its last 8 games at home.
New Orleans is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games at home.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of New Orleans’s last 6 games at home.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of New Orleans’s last 6 games when playing Phoenix.
New Orleans is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games when playing Phoenix.
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of New Orleans’s last 12 games when playing at home against Phoenix.
New Orleans scores an average of 100.5 points per game (ranked 15th). Phoenix ranks 17th in points allowed per game with 101.0.
Phoenix ranks seventh in points allowed per road game (105.8 PPG), while New Orleans ranks third in points per home game with 108.5.
The New Orleans Pelicans have a split 1-1 record when they limit their opponents to fewer than 100 points. The Phoenix Suns have a winless 0-4 record this season when they fail to reach the century mark.
When allowing 100 or more points in a game, the Pelicans are just 1-10 this season. Phoenix is a fantastic 7-1 when it reaches the century mark.
The Pelicans have an offensive rating of 100.7 (ranked 22nd). The Suns rank 12th for their defensive rating of 100.7.
Phoenix beats New Orleans in both possessions per game and points per possession. The Suns average 103.0 possessions and 1.027 points per possession, while the Pelicans average 99.9 possessions with 1.007 points per possession.
The Phoenix Suns have one of the best effective field goal percentages this season, ranking ninth in the league with an EFF% of 50.3%. When their opponents record a similar or higher EFF%, the New Orleans Pelicans are winless with a 0-7 record.
On average, the New Orleans Pelicans make 21.9 assists per game and the Phoenix Suns make 19.3. New Orleans is ranked 12th, while Phoenix is ranked 24th.
New Orleans makes an average of 4.6 blocks per game (ranked 20th), while Phoenix makes 3.8 blocks per game (ranked 27th).
New Orleans ranks 28th in offensive rebounds, while Phoenix ranks fifth in defensive rebounds.
Averaging 9.2 steals per game, the Phoenix Suns are ranked seventh in the league. The New Orleans Pelicans are a winless 0-3 this season when their opponents commit 9 or more steals.
