NBA: Phoenix Suns VS Minnesota Timberwolves Pick and Predictions 11/09/2022

Game: 8:15 PM ET,  Wednesday, November 9th, 2022

Venue:  Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Where to Watch: NBA League Pass

Suns: 7-3, 2nd place Western Conference

Timberwolves: 5-6, 10th place Western Conference

DraftKings:  Point Spread: Suns -1.5; O/U 222.5

PointsBet: Point Spread: Suns -2; O/U 223

Fanduel: Point Spread: Suns -2; O/U 223

Suns: PF Torrey Craig, SF Mikal Bridges, C Deandre Ayton, SG Devin Booker, PG Chris Paul

Timberwolves: PF Jaden McDaniels, SF Kyle Anderson, C Karl-Anthony Towns, PG De’Angelo Russell, SG Anthony Edwards

A Western Conference matchup of playoff expectancy.  Both teams in this battle have decided to go all in. For the Suns it came at the absence of trades and the big time signing of their own Center Deandre Ayton.  For the Timberwolves it was an already good team trading for C Rudy Gobert in essence “going all in”.  At the moment the Suns are still the conference leaders (the Utah Jazz passed them for 1st place by press time) while the T-Wolves are “hanging in there” at just below .500.  Both teams have the feeling of depth… the Suns have more chemistry and a better floor general.

The Phoenix Suns are still led by PG Chris Paul, but clearly the team will go as far as SG Devin Booker will take them.  Devin is leading the team in scoring at 27.1 points per game.  For the last few seasons prognosticators have been comparing Devin Booker to Kobe Bryant… however the growth has seemed to stop around the same place as when the comparisons started.  Devin is an actual vet now… no longer a young player with a ton of promise ahead.  The time for Devin to fully ascend is NOW.  If we are going to compare him to Kobe he needs to translate that comparison and his deep roster into Championship rings!  The Suns lost their last game to the Philadelphia 76ers 100-88.  Philly was playing without SG James Harden and the Suns lost PG Chris Paul to a heel injury during the game.  C Deandre Ayton could not stop Sixers C Joel Embiid from getting 33 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists.  That is why Embiid is a perennial MVP candidate while Deandre Ayton will never be in that class… It is also why the Suns were reluctant to give Ayton the Max extension that he eventually did get.  Booker had 28 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists… a fine game.  Yet when Chris Paul goes out… or if any of the starters go missing… Devin’s job is to have a BIGGER game to compensate. With backup PG Cameron Payne’s lackluster play in CP3’s absence put all the defensive pressure on SF Miles Bridges.  Miles is a great two way player… but he simply had too much on his plate.  

The Minnesota Timberwolves are struggling to find an actual leader for this team.  Is it SG Anthony Edwards?... Is it former Center current Power Forward Karl-Anthony Towns?  The two don’t seem to mesh or coexist well while both being extraordinarily talented offensive players… and don’t look to new Center Rudy Gobert to take the mantle, Rudy is a great defensive guy in the middle but not suited to lead and inspire an NBA roster.  The key problem is if Karl and Anthony can’t share the ball while getting enough of their own shots off?... Then why slide Karl to Power Forward where he will be taking MORE shots while stealing space on the perimeter from Anthony?... The answer will most likely be found in trading Karl-Anthony Towns THIS SEASON if the losing keeps happening.  This team with all that talent, except C Rudy Gobert who is in Health and Safety protocols, lost their last game to the New York Knicks 120 - 107.  The T-Wolves could not stop the triumvirate of PF Julius Randle 31 points, SG RJ Barrett 22 points, and PG Jalen Brunson 23 points.. From running them off the court.  T-Wolves star SG Anthony Edwards was particularly absent while only getting 16 points on 5 for 14 shooting AND 1 for 7 from 3-point line.  C Karl Anthony Towns had 25 points but a worse +/- for his time on the floor.  The T-Wolves need to find answers… that is hard to do against the Suns.  

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PHO: 7-3, 6-4 ATS, 3-7 O/U, 1-2 in road games.

MIN: 5-6, 4-7 ATS, 3-8 O/U, 4-4 in home games.

The Suns are 15th in scoring with 112.4 points per game, 23rd in rebounds with 41.5 per game, 3rd in AST/TO ratio with 2.0, and 8th in blocked shots with 5.9 per game.

The Timberwolves are 12th in scoring with 113.7 points per game, 4th in rebounds with 46.1 per game, 20th in AST/TO ratio with 1.6, and 13th in blocked shots with 5.6 per game.

Our prediction for Wednesday, November 9th is….  Suns 118 - T-Wolves 104

Bet on the Suns ATS.  The Suns could be without PG Chris Paul… while the T-Wolves could be without C Rudy Gobert.  I think the reason to bet the Suns is that the Wolves are a boiling teapot about to whistle.  The clash of SG and PF/C… and leadership of the team… and big dog on the block stuff will get worse ultimately forcing the GM and Coach to make tough decisions.

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(will update)

Suns: PG Chris Paul. When will father time take his powers away?

Timberwolves:  C Rudy Gobert.  Rudy is the new addition and the centerpiece of the team.  How he goes is not an accurate measure of anything yet.

Suns: Monty “all class all the time” Williams

Timberwolves: Chris “what is class?” Finch