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THUNDER is the play tomorrow.
Thunder -1.5 -125 LOCKED (x3)
I am rolling with OKC playing against the Suns in Phoenix tomorrow. OKC has been rolling as of late winning 9 of their last ten games. Only loss was by 2 points. Phoenix on the other hand has been faltering going 3-7 their last ten games.
The Suns have been horrible their last 28 games. They are 13-15 and listen to the teams they were able to beat. LAC, GS three times, HOU, MIL, NJ, IND, TOR, UTAH two times, Milwaukee and ATL. All of those wins have something in common. They beat teams that are not making the playoffs and are below .500 teams. The only win against a playoff team up there was ATL and I don't think many teams in the NBA are playing as badly as the Hawks are play, they are really garbage. Every time PHX plays a playoff team recenly they lose. They lost to DAL, NO, LAL, ORL, DEN, BOS, DAL, OKC. Even in their wins against crappy teams, they don't really look so hot. They beat NJ by 1 point in OT. They beat INDY by 2 poitns in OT. They beat Utah by 1 point and didn't cover. When they beat Houston, it was a close game and they didn't cover. They haven't beaten any team +10 games above .500 like OKC in months.
The Suns own coach is calling their playoff chances "a miracle".
"At the end of the day we've put ourselves in a position where we're not mathematically eliminated but it would take a miracle for us to make the playoffs." Gentry said.
Gortat said pretty much the same thing after the Dallas loss.
"After this game, I don't think we're going to be talking about playoffs this year anymore," he said.
Gentry already said he's not going to play Hill and Nash a lot of minutes anymore now that the year is over.Gentry said he has discussed the situation with Nash and 38-year-old Grant Hill, and both want to keep playing.
"But I won't play them long stretches," Gentry said. "Those guys have given everything. I know they're dedicated and they want to keep playing. But I don't think it would make sense to play those guys 35-38 minutes a game if we're mathematically eliminated."
This team has given up. They had a chance to make the playoffs but lost in triple OT to LAL, lost to N.O who was on b2b from high altitude Utah and without David West, then they led all game vs Dallas and still easily lost by 8. Steve Nash has already summed up the season as a "big disappointment" with 10 games left to play. Gentry has said he will be switching the lineups and rotations which will killl all chemistry. OKC is getting ready for the playoffs so they are going to play a tight rotation.
OKC on the other hand is right in the playoff run and rolling. They are playing as well as ever. They also matchup great with Phoenix. Gortat has been Phoenix best player as of late and they got Perkins to stick him. Westbrook will run circles around Nash. Hill and Dudley have no shot of stopping Kevin Durant. Sefolosha should limit Hill from scoring, he's an underrated defender. Ibaka is long and athletic enough to guard Frye at the 3 point line. OKC has a nice bench with Dequan Cook, Harden and Maynor providing an offensive spark. They also have two decent bigs of the bench with Mohammed and Collison. OKC should dominate on the inside and Phoenix will have to shoot themselves to a win which will be tough because Phoenix will be on back to back and they have been shooting well at all.
Offensively OKC is better in almost every category. PPG is about equal. OKC has a +4 point scoring margin. They are better on the fast break, better on the offensive glass, better on defensive rebounds, shoot more FT's, turn the ball over less and get more points in the paint. The only stat PHX has a slight edge is assists which is partly because they don't have a star like Durant and Russ who don't need to be passed to score. Defensively OKC is better in almost every category as well. They score more, shoot a better %, get more offensive rebounds, more defensive rebounds, block more shots, get more steals. Only category PHX has an edge is points in the paint and it's only a 1 point advantage (45-44).
Trends and stat wise I like this game as well.
Phoneix is 13-22 (37%) SU vs teams with a winning record.
Suns are 15-22 (40%) ATS at home, 1-4 (20%) ATS as homedogs of 0-3.
Phoenix is 9-18 (33%) ATS in revenge games.
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Originally Posted by lunchbawks
