NBA Picks: Phoenix Suns at New Orleans Hornets
Written April 8, 2009 by Steve Janus
The New Orleans Hornets officially clinched a playoff spot with their overtime win against the Miami Heat last night. Tonight they’ll have a chance to spoil someone else’s playoff hopes as the host the Phoenix Suns. The Suns are currently on the outside looking in at the playoffs this year, but they are still within striking distance of the Dallas Mavs, if only slightly. A quick look at today’s NBA odds show the Hornets as 3 point favorites over the Suns and the Over/Under set at 221.5 points.
The Hornets have beaten the Suns in 6-straight meetings. A win here would guarantee the Suns do not make the playoffs this year, the first time they’ve missed the post-season in four seasons. A playoff birth seems pretty bleak for the Suns considering a loss here or a Dallas win tonight over Utah will keep Phoenix at home this post-season.
New Orleans earned their playoff spot last night with a last-second three point heave by Rasual Bulter, sending the game into overtime, where the Hornets would eventually pull away from the Heat, 93-87. David West scored 20 points in the contest with 8 of those points coming in the extra period, including a go-ahead jumper with about 9 seconds left in the game. The win snapped a two-game losing streak for the Hornets, who are now guaranteed a playoff spot and are just one game behind Portland for the 5th seed in the West. Chris Paul was again incredible, chipping in with 26 points, 9 rebounds, 9 assists, and six steals, while Peja Stojakovic did his part with 24 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 steals in the New Orleans Victory.
The Suns missed golden opportunity their last time out. Sunday against Dallas, the team they are trying to catch in the playoff hunt, the Suns were throttled 140-116. The Mavs are now 4 games in front of Phoenix for the 8th and final playoff spot in the West with just 5 games left to play in the regular season. The Suns have struggled down the stretch to make up any ground on the Mavs as they have lost 4 of their last 6. Mathematically, Phoenix is still alive, but for all intensive purposes it looks like they are dead in the water for 2009.
The Hornets have a chance to win their 7th game in a row over the Suns, and I think they get the job done. Besides winning 6 in a row straight up against the Suns, New Orleans has also covered the spread in 8 consecutive meetings. My reasoning for why this happens is that the Suns always come into the game with a great offense, while the Hornets are a lower-scoring team that plays good defense. This makes it easy for oddsmakers to set the line in favor of Phoenix because the general betting public almost always leans toward an offensive team versus a defensive team. I’ll take the Hornets at home and gladly give the 3 points.
Predicted Score: New Orleans Hornets 102, Phoenix Suns 90
Play on: New Orleans Horntes -3, Phoenix/New Orleans UNDER 221.5
You can find even more NBA expert picks here at Betfirms to help you win at NBA betting the rest of this season.
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One Response to “NBA Picks: Phoenix Suns at New Orleans Hornets”
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I like the Hornets here too, But the line is dropping like a rock down to -2 1/2. That scares me.
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