Phoenix Suns at New Orleans Pelicans Betting Preview

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— Tuesday, January 04th Phoenix Suns @ New Orleans Pelicans

The Phoenix Suns are inching closer and closer to taking the Western Conference. They're only a few games behind the Golden State Warriors and have a favorable matchup today. They face the New Orleans Pelicans (13-24) on the road Tuesday night.

With some key players in quarantine, can the Suns overcome the missing players? Or will the Pelicans score an upset?

The New Orleans Pelicans might not look like much on the surface, but they can be great. Not long ago, the Pelicans snagged a win over the Milwaukee Bucks 116-112. They'll look to take down another titan on Tuesday when they face the Suns.

Clawing their way back into playoff contention will be tough but not impossible. It starts with a win over the Suns tonight.

Phoenix Suns: Continuing their road stretch after a huge win

The Phoenix Suns are on their third straight road game and just grabbed a big win. They faced the Charlotte Hornets and easily defeated them, 133-99.

The offensive prowess of this team is remarkable, and they have the perfect defense to go with it. On average, the Suns score 112.3 points per game (3rd in the NBA) while only allowing 104.81. An incredible tandem, to be sure.

Still, one thing they haven't been able to overcome is the COVID protocols. On Tuesday, they'll have McGee, Crowder, Nadar, and Ayton out. Each of these players is in quarantine and will be sorely missed.

We'll also note that these are all interior players, giving the Pelicans a place to exploit. The Suns will need a lot of output from their guards to run up the score early.

New Orleans Pelicans: Is +7.5 points enough for the Pelicans?

Although the Suns are clearly the better team, they're dealing with tons of injuries. These injuries put the Pelicans in a spot where they can exploit the Suns' interior defense.

The key for the Pelicans is figuring out a way to stop Devin Booker, Chris Paul, and Mikal Bridges. If they can slow down the Suns' guards, they could keep the score within a reasonable margin.

The Pelicans might not have a great overall record against the spread. However, at home, they're 10-7 ATS and have gone 4-1 ATS in their last five. This gives us plenty of confidence, especially considering the Suns have gone 2-4 ATS in their last six.

The stage is set for the Pelicans to get another win at the sportsbook. The only thing they'll need to do is capitalize.

Our pick for the Phoenix Suns at New Orleans Pelicans

After taking a look at how each team performs against the spread, we have our decision. The New Orleans Pelicans have done much better recently and are getting a lot of points.

The Suns are missing quite a few interior players, which will definitely hurt. The Pelicans can use these injuries to their advantage and cover this spread.

The Pelicans have also done well against the spread when playing at home. They might not have the offensive firepower of the Suns, but we expect them to cover here. We'd also pair this with the over as the total has gone over in 7 of Phoenix's last ten games.

DunkelIndex Free Pick: New Orleans Pelicans +7.5, OVER

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