Germantas Kneita
Show Bio
The Phoenix Suns must be riding a wave of confidence heading into tonight’s matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans. Not only have they just blown out the defending NBA champions, but their opponents tonight are shorthanded. However, they cannot take this game too lightly. The Pelicans were missing a number of key pieces in their last game against the Mavericks and still came out on top.
You can find our full NBA coverage here. But for now take a look at my same game parlay for Pelicans vs Suns below.
Phoenix Suns -7 (-106)
Cameron Johnson 3+ made threes (+182)
Deandre Ayton 12+ rebounds (+194)
Parlay odds: +1092
Phoenix Suns -7 (-106)
The New Orleans Pelicans have been hit by the injury bug. While only Brandon Ingram is confirmed out, they have several players listed as day-to-day. That includes Herbert Jones and Zion Williamson, who both sat out their latest game against the Dallas Mavericks. They are joined on the injury report by CJ McCollum, Jose Alvarado and Dyson Daniels. If a number of these players cannot go, the Pelicans will be severely shorthanded on the road here against the Phoenix Suns. The hosts have a clean bill of health heading into this game.
The Suns currently have the 3rd best net offensive and defensive rating in the league. With the potential Pelicans absentees, they should be able to fully capitalize on both ends of the court. Mikal Bridges is one of the leading wing defenders in the NBA and should be able to pick up and lock down the Pelicans main perimeter threat. On the inside, Deandre Ayton has the size and capability to naturalize the contributions of Jonas Valanciunas. There are too many questions around the Pelicans roster tonight. Considering that the Suns are one of the leading teams in the Western Conference, they should have the weapons to cover at home.
Cameron Johnson 3+ made threes (+182)
Cameron Johnson has so far been one of the leading shooters for the Phoenix Suns this season. He has been able to make 3 shots from deep in 2 of his 4 games so far this season. Yet he is still only shooting at a 36.4% clip on the season. Considering that he made 42.5% of 3-pointers last year, there is still plenty of room to improve this season for the young guard.
Last year against the Pelicans he averaged 3 makes from deep per game in 3 contests. Considering that the visitors tonight could be without lengthy wing defenders like Jones and Ingram, Johnson should have an easier time of replicating such performances. The Pelicans are 22nd in the league in opponent 3-point attempts per game. This should give Johnson plenty of opportunity to hit this line.
Deandre Ayton 12+ rebounds (+194)
Coming into this game of the back off his best rebounding performance of the season, Deandre Ayton will look to continue that form here. The visitors here could be shorthanded, with Ingram out and potentially Williamson unavailable too. CJ McCollum is dealing with a finger injury so if he does take to the floor, it could have an impact on his shooting efficiency. Without these offensive leaders there could be more missed shots and more rebounds for Ayton to contest for.
Up against him will be Valanciunas. While the Lithuanian has at times shown an ability to stretch the floor, he has struggled for efficiency from beyond the arc this season. The center is making just 28.6% from 3-point range so expect Ayton to stand off him until he knocks a couple down. That should leave him in better rebounding position. Valanciunas is someone who goes after offensive rebounds, so most of Ayton’s night will be spend contesting for boards on the inside. Do not be surprised to see him rack up rebound numbers as a result.
Friday’s NBA Mega Parlay is priced at +1046 odds!
Pickswise is the home of free NBA Picks and NBA Predictions. Check out the latest NBA Prop Bets and NBA Parlays as well as NBA Best Bets from our NBA experts.
