NBA Betting: Suns Face Must-Win at Home
The home team is 3-2 straight up so far in the NBA Western Conference Finals. Unfortunately for the Phoenix Suns, they've had just two games at US Airways Center and enter Game 6 tonight on the short end of that 3-2 mark, making this one a 'win or stay home' proposition for them. Ron Artest's put-back at the buzzer in Game 5 has Los Angeles one win away from its third straight Western Conference title.
Even after the Phoenix Suns’ furious comeback and near victory in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals on Thursday night, there’s little reason to think they’ll win the series outright.
That said, you have to like the Suns’ chances – both straight up and against the spread – to cash Game 6 of the West Finals on Saturday night (8:30 PM ET, TNT) at US Airways Center.
The Los Angeles Lakers have other ideas of course, and they’d like nothing more than to end matters on Saturday night. With dreams of a third straight Finals appearance dancing in their heads, the Lakers need all the rest they can get before a potential matchup with Boston or Orlando.
Still, Los Angeles hasn’t proven it’s able to beat Phoenix away from Staples Center. The Suns won and covered in Game 3 and 4, with a margin of victory of nine points on each occasion.
Overall, Phoenix is 3-1 SU and ATS against Los Angeles at US Airways Center this season.
Oddsmakers opened the Suns as 1-point underdogs for Game 6, but heavy action on Phoenix forced them to adjust the line. As of press time, the Suns were 1-point favorites against the Lakers, with the total set between 215 and 216 points depending on the outlet.
Los Angeles edged Phoenix 103-101 on a buzzer-beating putback from Ron Artest in Game 5, but the Suns covered easily as 7½-point pups.
The Lakers appeared to have the payday in hand when they led by 18 points in the third quarter, but the Suns staged a furious comeback to even the score on a banked-in three-pointer from Jason Richardson with 3.3 seconds remaining.
Lost in the shuffle of Los Angeles’ dramatic victory was the performance of Phoenix’s 2-3 zone defense, which was the most effective it’s been in the series in Game 5.
The zone got all the mainstream press – and all the credit – for the Suns’ wins in Game 3 and 4, but the analysis was misleading.
The Lakers shot close to 50% from the floor in the first two games in Phoenix, and while that was down from the 58% clip they put up in Game 1 and 2, you can hardly say the Suns locked them up.
Phoenix’s pair of wins on its homecourt was the result of better offense – and more aggressiveness on the glass. That was especially true in Game 4, when the Suns outrebounded the Lakers 51-36 en route to a 115-106 win as 1½-point dogs.
Both teams stepped it up on defense on Thursday night, and it allowed them to play ‘under’ the total (217½) for the first time in the series. With the series getting down to the nitty-gritty, I’d expect Game 6 to be more like Game 5 and for the ‘under’ to cash for the second contest in a row.
For Phoenix to cover on Saturday night, it needs to keep Los Angeles off the boards. The Suns held the Lakers to 41.8% (38-for-91) shooting from the field in Game 5, but Los Angeles grabbed 19 offensive rebounds to win the battle on the glass 49-40.
That leaves Phoenix with a conundrum with regards to their rotation. Robin Lopez is much better in the paint than Channing Frye, but the latter finally found his game on Thursday night, going for 14 points and 10 rebounds while leading the team with a +10 in 31 minutes.
Leave Lopez out there, and the Suns suffer offensively; go with Frye and the Suns are more vulnerable on the inside. There’s a domino effect here: With Frye in the game, there’s more pressure on Amare Stoudemire to hold his own defensively and on the boards. That’s not his forte.
Alvin Gentry has to mix and match effectively for Phoenix to take home the win. The good news is he’s done it all season and there’s little reason to think he’ll lose his touch now.
Kobe Bryant was brilliant once again in Game 5, racking up 30 points, 11 boards, nine assists, and four blocks. That’s great news for the Lakers, obviously, but Bryant’s continued dominance doesn’t preclude the Suns from feeling good about Game 6.
Kobe is at the top of his game, but so what? Phoenix is 3-2 ATS in the series and has a chance to send it to a deciding Game 7 with a win on Saturday night.
The home team is 3-2 straight up so far in the NBA Western Conference Finals. Unfortunately for the Phoenix Suns, they've had just two games at US Airways Center and enter Game 6 tonight on the short end of that 3-2 mark, making this one a 'win or stay home' proposition for them. Ron Artest's put-back at the buzzer in Game 5 has Los Angeles one win away from its third straight Western Conference title.
Even after the Phoenix Suns’ furious comeback and near victory in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals on Thursday night, there’s little reason to think they’ll win the series outright.
That said, you have to like the Suns’ chances – both straight up and against the spread – to cash Game 6 of the West Finals on Saturday night (8:30 PM ET, TNT) at US Airways Center.
The Los Angeles Lakers have other ideas of course, and they’d like nothing more than to end matters on Saturday night. With dreams of a third straight Finals appearance dancing in their heads, the Lakers need all the rest they can get before a potential matchup with Boston or Orlando.
Still, Los Angeles hasn’t proven it’s able to beat Phoenix away from Staples Center. The Suns won and covered in Game 3 and 4, with a margin of victory of nine points on each occasion.
Overall, Phoenix is 3-1 SU and ATS against Los Angeles at US Airways Center this season.
Oddsmakers opened the Suns as 1-point underdogs for Game 6, but heavy action on Phoenix forced them to adjust the line. As of press time, the Suns were 1-point favorites against the Lakers, with the total set between 215 and 216 points depending on the outlet.
Los Angeles edged Phoenix 103-101 on a buzzer-beating putback from Ron Artest in Game 5, but the Suns covered easily as 7½-point pups.
The Lakers appeared to have the payday in hand when they led by 18 points in the third quarter, but the Suns staged a furious comeback to even the score on a banked-in three-pointer from Jason Richardson with 3.3 seconds remaining.
Lost in the shuffle of Los Angeles’ dramatic victory was the performance of Phoenix’s 2-3 zone defense, which was the most effective it’s been in the series in Game 5.
The zone got all the mainstream press – and all the credit – for the Suns’ wins in Game 3 and 4, but the analysis was misleading.
The Lakers shot close to 50% from the floor in the first two games in Phoenix, and while that was down from the 58% clip they put up in Game 1 and 2, you can hardly say the Suns locked them up.
Phoenix’s pair of wins on its homecourt was the result of better offense – and more aggressiveness on the glass. That was especially true in Game 4, when the Suns outrebounded the Lakers 51-36 en route to a 115-106 win as 1½-point dogs.
Both teams stepped it up on defense on Thursday night, and it allowed them to play ‘under’ the total (217½) for the first time in the series. With the series getting down to the nitty-gritty, I’d expect Game 6 to be more like Game 5 and for the ‘under’ to cash for the second contest in a row.
For Phoenix to cover on Saturday night, it needs to keep Los Angeles off the boards. The Suns held the Lakers to 41.8% (38-for-91) shooting from the field in Game 5, but Los Angeles grabbed 19 offensive rebounds to win the battle on the glass 49-40.
That leaves Phoenix with a conundrum with regards to their rotation. Robin Lopez is much better in the paint than Channing Frye, but the latter finally found his game on Thursday night, going for 14 points and 10 rebounds while leading the team with a +10 in 31 minutes.
Leave Lopez out there, and the Suns suffer offensively; go with Frye and the Suns are more vulnerable on the inside. There’s a domino effect here: With Frye in the game, there’s more pressure on Amare Stoudemire to hold his own defensively and on the boards. That’s not his forte.
Alvin Gentry has to mix and match effectively for Phoenix to take home the win. The good news is he’s done it all season and there’s little reason to think he’ll lose his touch now.
Kobe Bryant was brilliant once again in Game 5, racking up 30 points, 11 boards, nine assists, and four blocks. That’s great news for the Lakers, obviously, but Bryant’s continued dominance doesn’t preclude the Suns from feeling good about Game 6.
Kobe is at the top of his game, but so what? Phoenix is 3-2 ATS in the series and has a chance to send it to a deciding Game 7 with a win on Saturday night.
