NBA: Phoenix Suns vs Atlanta Hawks Preview, Odds, Prediction

The Phoenix Suns finally reached that No.1 place in the West, and they want to keep it. However, Monty Williams’ team has one very tough challenge coming up, against the Atlanta Hawks. The franchise from Georgia is very good this season, and we might say that they played above the expectations. They are currently fifth in the East, with solid chances to stay there, avoiding the play-in tournament. Beating the Suns would be a massive plus for Nate McMillan’s side, but that is much easier to say than to do, because Phoenix currently looks perfect.

Preveiw

Phoenix Suns (47-18, -140), the No.1 team in the West and the league, has five straight wins right now. Their winning streak started against the Knicks on the road, continued against the Clippers and the Jazz in Arizona, and the Thunder and the Cavaliers on the road.

The last match in Ohio against the Cavs saw overtime, as feisty hosts refused to get down. However, Phoenix obliterated them in the additional five minutes scoring 20 and allowing four points for the final score, 134-118.

The Suns had three players with 20+points in that one. Of course, Devin Booker led the way with 31 buckets, but again shooting poor from the three-point territory, 1-for-6. Chris Paul had 23 and 16 assists, while Mikal Bridges proved that he is in excellent form with 22 buckets. Bridges averaged 15 points in the last 10 games while shooting 58.2% from the field, and 41.4% for three.

Atlanta Hawks (36-30, +115) bounced back following a three-game losing streak that would see them suffer defeats vs Pistons and the 76ers twice in a row. All these games were on the road. Afterward, Young and his crew defeated the division rivals, Chicago Bulls at home, 108-97, and the Portland Trail Blazers, 123-114.

This triumph was significant for the Hawks’ morale because guests from Oregon happened to be one of the best teams in the league in recent times. But they couldn’t go against Atlanta’s sharpshooters, Bogdan Bogdanovic and Danilo Gallinari, who had seven threes each.

Gallo ended the night with 28 points, 7-for-10 for three, and 8 boards. On the other side, Bogi had 25 buckets, 7-for-14 from deep. Trae Young scored 21 points with 11 assists, while John Collins played 19 minutes for 15 points and 8 boards. Overall, the Hawks made 20 threes in 41 attempts.

Head to Head Games

The first H2H game between these two sides ended in Suns’ favor, 117-110. The hosts endured Hawks’ push in the last minutes, posting their 32nd win of the season at that time. Booker had 21 points, Dario Saric one fewer, and Jae Crowder 19 for the Suns. Bogdanovic scored a team-high for the Hawks, 22 buckets, Young had 19 with 13 assists.

Prediction

On one side, we have Young, Bogdanovic, Gallinari, and the rest of the shooters, on the other, Booker, Paul, Bridges, etc. Not to mention other guys who are able to deliver 15 points. In our humble opinion, 227.5 points, which is the line for the total here, is low, and this match should end above the spread. The style of play of both sides and matchups on the court guarantee a high-scoring affair, plus the Suns’ trend in recent times is also forcing us to bet on this. Five of their previous six games went over, and six of the last seven road games saw the same conclusion.