NBA Basketball Sports Betting
Phoenix Suns (42-35 SU, 33-43-1 ATS) at New Orleans Hornets (48-29 SU, 33-42-2 ATS)
BetUS NBA Basketball Sports Betting Odds: NEW ORLEANS -2.5, Total 220.5
Here are some of the NBA pro basketball sports betting trends as they relate to this matchup:
* PHX has won and covered eight of its last 12 games
* PHX has lost four of its last six games SU
* PHX has played six of its last seven games OVER the total
* PHX has covered three of its last ten road games
* PHX has lost nine of its last ten road games SU
* PHX has played four of its last five road games
* NO has won 16 of its last 23 games SU
* NO has won nine of its last 12 games SU
* NO has played six of its last seven home games UNDER the total
Also...
* NO has won the last six meetings SU
* NO has covered the last eight meetings
* The last five meetings have gone OVER the total
* NO has covered four of the last five meetings as the home team
* PHX has won six of the last nine meetings SU as the road team
* Four of the last six meetings in New Orleans have gone UNDER the total
* PHX has had the shooting edge in six of the last seven meetings
* NO has made more three-pointers in four of the last six meetings
If the Suns lose this game, they can forget about the playoffs for certain. Phoenix, at 42-35, is four full games in back of Dallas in the Western Conference standings, and since the Mavs play tonight as well, a loss by Phoenix, coupled with a Dallas win, ends it. of course, as far as the Hornets are concerned, their playoff spot in the West is still up in the air. The Hornets, who have clinched a playoff berth, are a game behind #5 Portland and a game ahead of #7 Utah, and they still have a chance to get to the #4 slot and a home field advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
New Orleans has been getting some tremendous performances lately out of Chris Paul, who has scored 25 points or more in three of his three games, and has handed out 68 assists with just 18 turnovers. David West has hit for 20 points or more in six of his last seven, and had 40 points against the Kings on March 31.
What about Shaquille O'Neal, you ask? Well, Shaq has played just 25 minutes a game over his last two, scoring 25 total points. He comes into this contest with two days of rest, and Steve Nash has 48 assists with just 11 turnovers in his last four outings. Phoenix has obviously not done a very good job of preventing people from scoring, however. They had a chance against Dallas on Sunday but gave up 140 points en route to a 24-point defeat. The Suns have surrendered better than 50% shooting to four of their last six opponents, and their last four games have gone over the total.
The head-to-head trends have not been kind to Phoenix in this series, with six straight wins and eight straight covers by the Hornets. New Orleans' defense was porous in its last home game against Utah, as they allowed 53.6% shooting, but they made a nice comeback against the Heat in Miami last night, yielding only 39%. When playing the second end of a back-to-back on its home floor, the Hornets are 4-1 ATS. This number is reasonable, and Phoenix has had more than its share of chances to make up ground in the conference standings. We'll lay it with the Hornets, the 2.5-point favorite in the BetUS NBA pro basketball sports betting odds.
JAY'S PLAY: NEW ORLEANS -2.5 ***
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)