Phoenix Suns at Denver Nuggets 1/1/21: NBA Basketball free preview, analysis, prediction, odds and pick against the spread.
2021-01-01 21:00:00 EDT
The Phoenix Suns and the Denver Nuggets duke it out at the Ball Arena on Friday night.
The Phoenix Suns have hit the ground running this season as they’ve won four of their first five games and they will be looking for a fourth straight victory after last night’s 106-95 road win at Utah. Devin Booker led the team with 25 points and seven assists on 10 of 17 shooting, Jae Citemder and Mikal Bridges each scored 16 points while Chris Paul chipped in with 11 points and eight assists. As a team, the Suns shot 48 percent from the field and an efficient 17 of 33 from the 3-point line, but credit this win to their defensive effort as they were always in control after holding the Jazz to just 18 points in the second quarter.
Meanwhile, the Denver Nuggets have yet to really get going as they’ve lost three of their first four games and they will be looking to bounce back after Tuesday’s 125-115 road loss to the Kings. Michael Porter Jr. led the team with 30 points and 10 rebounds on 12 of 18 shooting, Nikola Jokic racked up a triple-double of 26 points with 10 rebounds and 12 assists while Monte Morris chipped in with 24 points on 10 of 15 shooting. As a team, the Nuggets shot a healthy 54 percent from the field and 11 of 28 from the 3-point line as they rallied back from a 14-point deficit to lead by as many as 10 points late in the third quarter. However, the Nuggets went ice-cold late and it cost them as they scored just seven points in the final 7:02 to allow the Kings to steal it.
Looking at the betting trends, the Suns are 5-1 ATS in their last six road games, 5-13 ATS in their last 18 games against a team with a losing record and 13-3 ATS in their last 16 games overall. The Nuggets are 11-5-2 ATS in their last 18 games against a team with a winning record and 1-4-1 ATS in their last six games overall.
Head to head, the over is 4-1 in the last five meetings, the Suns are 2-7 ATS in the last nine meetings in Denver and the Suns are 5-12 ATS in the last 17 meetings overall.
The Suns are currently one of the hottest teams in the league and a lot of the credit goes to Booker who was clinical down the stretch in last night’s win. The Nuggets have been doing it tough to start the season and they must be so disappointed they blew it against the Kings on Tuesday. The Nuggets have been playing better than their record suggests, but they just haven’t been able to build any momentum yet. The Suns are playing this one on zero days rest, but they’ve been rolling well as a team and I think they do enough to get the cover in a game they could easily win.
