New Orleans Pelicans vs Phoenix Suns betting tips and predictions for Thursday’s NBA Western Conference Playoff game on TNT. The defending Western Conference champions Phoenix Suns look to end their 1st round series tonight in New Orleans as they face off with the Pelicans in Game 6. Read on for all our free predictions and betting tips.
New Orleans Pelicans
A poor game by Brandon Ingram and C.J McCollum is what got the Pelicans defeated in Game 5 and now with their backs against the wall they head home for Game 6. The experienced duo combined for just 14-for-41 from the field and 43 points, that kind of effort just highlights how much deeper the Suns roster is at this point.
Jonas Valanciunas had another solid game with 17 points and 14 rebounds, but if the Pelicans rely on just their big man to win here their season could end tonight. In the 2 wins they had in this series they outrebounded the Suns by 9 and 10 boards, we all know it takes effort to grab rebounds and that’s exactly what head coach Willie Green will demand from his players tonight.
Phoenix Suns
Allowing this series to go to a decisive Game 7 isn’t an option for the Phoenix Suns as they cannot afford to go back home and face potential elimination against an 8th seed. Mikal Bridges erupted for 31 points on 12-for-17 shooting on Game 5, while Chris Paul had 22 points and 11 assists. With Devin Booker still missing, the Suns will have to rely on their depth once again in order to end this series tonight.
Players like Cameron Payne, who had 12 points in Game 5, will have to step up their production. Jae Crowder has been okay defensively, but he’s averaging just 9% from three-point land in this series, that has to change in tonight’s elimination game. The good news for Pelicans fans is that they’ve covered the spread 4 times in their last 6 home games and they are 8-2 SU in their last 10 games played on a Thursday.
Entering tonight’s game the spread is at just 2 points, far too low for me to consider backing the Pelicans here. I think the Suns wrap up this tonight on the road, they are by far the better team all around. Sadly for the Pelicans this series will have no fairytale ending. Back Phoenix to cover.
New Orleans Pelicans vs Phoenix Suns Predictions & Odds
In 2 of their 3 wins in this series so far, the Suns have held the Pelicans to under 100 points and that seems to be the most efficient way of winning these games. The projected total has been set at a modest 214 points, so even though it’s an elimination game we could see a bit of an increase in production as the Pelicans will try their best to push the tempo. The total has gone over in 12 of the last 17 meetings between these teams, while over the last 10 they’ve averaged 225.9 points per game between them.
In the last 5 meetings at Smoothie King Center the total has gone over 5 times and oddly enough for the Pelicans in their last 13 of 19 home games played on a Thursday. The Suns are no strangers themselves to pushing the tempo, they currently rank 9th in the NBA averaging 102 possessions per game. Combine that with the fact that they are 3rd in offensive efficiency, you have one of the best scoring teams in the entire NBA despite their best scorer not playing due to injury. It’s a closeout scenario for Phoenix, I expect all of their players to be on top of their game, so let’s back the over here.
