NBA Picks: Phoenix Suns at Dallas Mavericks
Written by Steve Janus - Google +
The Phoenix Suns open a three game road trip when they take on the Dallas Mavericks tonight at American Airlines Center. The Suns snapped a three-game losing streak with a 128-122 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Mavericks were also in action on Wednesday, and were able to hold on for a 103-98 win over the Portland Trail Blazers. The Mavericks are now 13-1 since starting the season just 7-4. Our spreads indicate that the Dallas Mavericks are 7-point favorites over the Suns tonight.
The Suns start their three game road trip against a Dallas team they have failed to beat on the road in their last seven attempts. Phoenix is just 2-5 in their last seven road games, and could be in trouble with trips to Oklahoma City and San Antonio in their final two games of their short road trip.
The Suns welcomed back center Robin Lopez in their last game, and while Lopez had just 12 points and eight rebounds, he gives Phoenix a much needed presence down low. Channing Frye was on fire from downtown against the Timberwolves, connecting on 7 of 12 shots from behind the three point line. Steve Nash was in the giving mood against Minnesota, dishing out a season-high 19 assists.
The Suns are going to need a big game out of their leading scorer, Jason Richardson, as they have really struggled on the defensive side this season, allowing a league-worst 110 points a game this season.
Stopping Dirk Nowitzki figures to be quite the challenge for the Suns tonight. Nowitzki is shooting a ridiculous 63% from the field over his last seven games, while averaging 25.5 points per game. Also figuring to be a key factor in tonight’s game are Caron Butler and Jason Kidd. Butler had 15 points, while Kidd had 18 points, 10 assists, and seven steals in the last game between these two teams.
While Dallas has been excellent at home this season, going 12-4, they are just 6-8 ATS and have had a hard time keeping up their intensity when they get a big lead. Dallas blew a 20 point lead against the Bucks on Monday, which snapped their 12 game winning streak, and barely held on for the win against the Trail Blazers, despite being up 17 points in the third quarter.
Dallas however is 3-1 ATS in their last four home games against the Suns, but their inability to put teams away makes them a difficult pick to cover the spread tonight.
One Response to “NBA Picks: Phoenix Suns at Dallas Mavericks”
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Lebron James is really good and can be better than colby bryant, but I think that the is Dirk Nowitzki he could do better but he is still the best next to Michael Jordan