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After as disappointing of an end to a season that one could fathom in the desert, the Phoenix Suns will begin their march to get over the hump this season as they battle it out with the Portland Trail Blazers for some Friday night action. It's time to continue our NBA odds series with a Suns-Blazers prediction and pick.
Faced with a Game 7 in their home building, the Suns fell flat on their face in embarrassing fashion as they came up way short in a 33-point blowout to the Dallas Mavericks. With the clock ticking on Chris Paul's career, the Suns' championship window may be quickly closing before our very eyes. Nevertheless, Phoenix has been a championship-contending team for the better part of the last two seasons and is still among the NBA's premier teams heading into this season. Fresh off of getting a taste of revenge in a 107-105 win at the hands of the Mavericks to move to 1-0, the Suns will look for a repeat performance tonight against Portland.
Under the leadership of Chauncey Billups in his second season as Portland's head coach, the Trail Blazers missed out on the postseason by a large amount as they finished up the 2021-2022 regular season by going 27-55 and finishing in 13th place out west. With a solid road outing that resulted in the victory over the Kings 115-108, Portland is eager to prove that they are one of the league's most improved teams heading into the season.
Here are the Suns-Blazers NBA odds, courtesy of FanDuel
NBA Odds: Suns-Blazers Odds
Phoenix Suns: -5 (-114)
Portland Trail Blazers: +5 (-106)
Over: 223.5 (-110)
Under: 223.5 (-110)
Why The Suns Could Cover The Spread
Trailing by as much as 22 points to Dallas in their opening game of the season, the Suns were almost admitted for PTSD after surely receiving flashbacks in their minds of the disastrous Game 7 playoff exit that they endured back in May. However, Phoenix showcased their poise and resilience by simply answering the chaos that the Mavs ensued by outscoring Dallas 62-43 in the second half en route to sending the Suns fans home happy.
Conversely, revenge is best served cold, and that is certainly how the Suns began Wednesday's matchup with Dallas. In order to cover the spread in their first road test of the season in Portland, Phoenix must get off to a better start to avoid digging themselves too deep of a hole. By starting off on the right foot, the Suns would be able to control the tempo and keep the Blazers at bay.
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In addition, Phoenix has to figure out a way to be aggressive without committing a ton of fouls. With over 29 fouls called on the Suns two days ago, foul trouble reared its ugly head and prevented Phoenix to make the proper adjustments that they needed to make. Despite playing a little extra belligerently out on the court, the one area where this paid off was in the paint where Phoenix absolutely dominated the Mavs. When it was all said and done, the Suns accumulated for a stupendous 56 points in the paint. Expect Phoenix to feed Deandre Ayton down low as he should possess a decent advantage when going up against Portland big Jusuf Nurkic.
Why The Trail Blazers Could Cover The Spread
Nevertheless, despite the down year last season, the good news is that star point guard and sharpshooter Damien Lillard has finally returned to the Blazers' starting lineup after being absent for 9 1/2 months due to a lingering abdominal injury. In his return to action, Lillard looked like his old self at times even though there were obvious moments where he was attempting to shake the rust off. After the final horn blew, Lillard finished his 37 minutes of action with 20 points on 5-18 shooting and an uncharacteristic 1-8 from downtown.
Fortunately for himself and the Blazers, the dynamic 32-year-old floor general used his aggressive nature to drive to the hole and earn his way to the free-throw line. Simply put, the best-case scenario for Portland when it comes to covering the spread will be for Lillard to have a breakout game and inflict damage upon the Suns with a hot-shooting hand.
Not to mention, the Blazers would love to continue to get newly acquired forward Jerami Grant the basketball in space and in transition. Making a move for the slashing Grant during the offseason, Grant has already provided Portland with an extreme amount of efficiency. On Wednesday, Grant's Trail Blazers debut could not have gotten off to a better start as he dropped 23 points on 5/11 shooting from the floor. Clearly, Grant makes this roster a whole lot better and should give the Suns fits when the ball is in his hands.
Final Suns-Blazers Prediction & Pick
For starters, this is not the same Portland squad that lost 52 games a year ago. With the return of Dame Time along with the acquisition of Jerami Grant and even other key playmakers, the Trail Blazers should be fired up ahead of their regular season home opener.
Final Suns-Blazers Prediction & Pick: Trail Blazers +5 (-106)
