Phoenix Suns at New Orleans Pelicans Betting Preview/Prop Picks

The Phoenix Suns seek to continue to establish their dominance in the Western Conference. Today, they'll face off against the New Orleans Pelicans, a team that just got a win over the Rockets.

Now, the Suns have already claimed a spot in the NBA playoffs, but that doesn't mean they'll let up. In fact, we think the Suns are only going to get tougher as we near the playoffs.

The New Orleans Pelicans need to win games if they want a spot in the playoffs this year. Before the win over the Rockets, the Pelicans took a tough loss to four teams. These losses nearly knocked them out of the top ten in the Western Conference.

They face the best team in the conference today, so they better be ready. Let's see if we can pick the winner of this game.

Phoenix Suns: Thriving under the pressure of being the best

Although the Phoenix Suns have been dealing with injuries, they're been performing well. They're coming off a 140-111 win over the Los Angeles Lakers and have Devin Booker back on the court.

Booker is the catalyst to this team's success; when he's out, the team can feel it. However, they were able to grab a few wins and keep their No.1 spot when he was sidelined.

As an offense, the Suns rank fifth in the NBA, averaging 114.03 points per game. They'll likely look to overwhelm the defense of the Pelicans, which ranks 14th in the NBA.

Knowing that the Pelicans recently allowed the Hornets to score 142 points, the Suns will use this. Don't be surprised if you see the Suns run a similar offense to the Charlotte Hornets in tonight's game.

New Orleans Pelicans: The defense better get ready

This game will be a true test of the Pelicans' resiliency on defense. We've seen them falter before, especially during the four-game losing streak they were on. In three of the four games the Pelicans lost during that stretch, their opponent scored over 130 points.

As they prepare to face the Suns, their defense better prepare. If they allow that many points again, they'll lose.

The Pelicans' offense doesn't match up with the Suns either, so a shootout is unlikely as well. However, it's worth it to note that the Pelicans beat the Suns the last time they played. In February, the Pelicans traveled to Phoenix and took down the Suns, 117-102.

They were underdogs in that game as well, coming in at +6.5. Could we have another upset upon us?

Our pick for the Phoenix Suns at New Orleans Pelicans

Although the Pelicans were able to get a win in that game, we don't see them coming out on top. The Suns' offense is red-hot right now, especially with Devin Booker leading the charge.

More importantly, the Pelicans' defense has struggled in recent weeks and has allowed a lot of points. Over their last ten games, the Suns have a record of 7-3 against the Pelicans, so take Phoenix.

In their last seven games against New Orleans, they're 5-2 against the spread. They also only come in as 5.5-point favorites, so it's not a lot of points to cover. We'd also recommend taking the under in this game because of the Pelicans' offense.

DunkelIndex Free Pick: Phoenix Suns -5.5, UNDER

Prop Picks

New Orleans (-110) UNDER 111.5 Points

Phoenix is allowing 106.1 points per game on defense, which ranks No. 6 in the league, while holding teams to 44.1 percent shooting from the field and 33.5 percent from beyond the arc, which rank No. 3 and No. 1, respectively.

With Dunkel predicting a Phoenix victory by the score of 115-106, take the Pelicans (-110) to finish UNDER their Vegas team total of 111.5 points against the Suns.

Mikal Bridges (-105) OVER 14.5 Points

Bridges is averaging 13.7 points per game, which ranks No. 4 on the Suns. That average increases to 15.9 points per game over his last 10 games and 17.7 points per game in his three contests versus New Orleans.

With Dunkel predicting a Phoenix road win tonight, take the Bridges (-105) to continue to help on the offensive end and finish OVER his Vegas total of 14.5 points against the Pelicans.

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