NBA Lines – Handicapping the Spurs vs Suns
San Antonio Spurs (30-14 SU, 20-23-1 ATS) at Phoenix Suns (25-18 SU, 15-27-1 ATS)
BetUS NBA Basketball Sports Betting Odds: PHOENIX -2, Total 198.5
Here are some of the NBA betting trends as they relate to this matchup:
* SA has won five of its last six games SU
* SA has covered three of its last nine games * SA has played five of its last six games UNDER the total
* SA has won six of its last eight road games SU
* SA has played nine of its last 11 road games UNDER the total
* PHX has lost five of its last eight games SU
* PHX is 2-7-1 ATS in its last ten games
* PHX has played four of its last five games UNDER the total
* PHX has covered one of its last five home games
* PHX has played six of its last eight home games UNDER the total
Also…
* SA has won five of the last seven meetings SU
* Three of the last four meetings have gone UNDER the total
* SA has won and covered four of the last six meetings as the road team * Six of the last seven meetings in Phoenix have gone UNDER the total
The road team has gone 3-1-1 ATS in the last five meetings, and the visitor has won straight-up in both meetings this season. San Antonio won at the buzzer on Christmas Day at the US Airways Center, and here the Suns get a chance for some payback. Phoenix gets a couple of days’ rest, which means Shaquille O’Neal should be relatively crisp. Shaq had a stellar game against Washington on Monday, with 29 points on 10-of-14 shooting from the field. O’Neal has shot 60% from the field this season, and has been held out of back-to-back situations by coach Terry Porter, but here he’ll be fresh.
This pair of days off cushions Phoenix’s return for a six-game road trip that saw the club go 3-3. That’s not bad as life in the NBA goes, but it’s not what is going to help this team compete for the final Western Conference playoff spot. This particular game is critical.
In two games against San Antonio this season, including the season opener, O’Neal has scored 38 points with 25 rebounds. He has shot slightly over 50% in those games. It was hard to stop Amare Stoudamire in the Christmas game, as the All-Star starter had 25 points and 13 rebounds, but the Suns are going to have to improve upon the TWO points they got from their bench in that contest. That shouldn’t be too hard, since Leandro Barbosa has been sharp off the bench in the last two games, scoring 43 points on 67% shooting.
This has not been a good pointspread streak for Phoenix, which has gone 2-7-1 against the number in the last ten, but they’re doing okay with their efforts to slow the pace and keep games relatively low-scoring, holding opponents to less than 100 points on three consecutive occasions. They will be looking to win with defense here. Both of these teams have been moving in the direction of “unders,” and with rest, you will see an intense effort on that end. We’re going UNDER the total of 198.5 points as it is posted in the BetUS Sportsbook NBA pro basketball betting odds.
