Game Time: 6:30 PM ET, Tuesday, March 15th, 2022 

Venue:  Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, Louisiana

Where to Watch: NBA League Pass

DraftKings:  Spread:  Suns -5.5; O/U 225.5

Fanduel:  Spread:  Suns -6; O/U 226

BetMGM:  Spread: Suns -5.5; O/U 225.5

Suns: 54-14, 1st place Western Conference

Pelicans: 28-40, 10th place Western Conference

A Western Conference matchup between the best and the rest.  The Phoenix Suns just beat the horrible Los Angeles Lakers in soaring fashion… 140-111.  LeBron played just enough to get 31 points and then sat.  LeBron will be spending the rest of the season taking potshots to try and get the scoring title while preserving his health for the next 2-3 years of setting all-time records.  The Suns were not worried about the Lakers for even a second.  The Suns went out to a big lead early and kept it all the way through.  SG Devin Booker had a great game in the win.  C Deandre Jordan had a great game in the win.  SF Mikal Bridges had a great game in the win… he may have tweaked an abdominal muscle.  PF Jae Crowder had a great game in the win.  None of the Lakers had anything but a simple bad game except for Lebron.  The Pelicans are junk trying desperately to break out of the trash bin.  Nothing they have done this season points to them being able to do that.  At tenth in the Western Conference they may qualify for a play-in game if they hold their position.  At a game and a half behind the Lakers, the Pelicans have nothing to be proud of.  It is a long season, but it closes in less than a month.  Where these teams rank… will determine nothing.  The Suns are in 1st and noone cares where the Pelicans finish.

The Phoenix Suns have won 6 of their last ten games.  They went 4-6 ATS during that stretch.  They have been hard to push all the chips in on because the books have increased the spreads attached to their games.  The Suns only want wins.. They do not care about us gamblers and our silly spreads.  Leading scorer SG Devin Booker has an increased workload at the moment as PG Chris Paul will miss the rest of the season with a hand injury.  The Suns are 6 Over and 4 Under over the last ten games as they keep dropping big scoring nights on the teams that they beat.

The New Orleans Pelicans have won 5 of their last ten games.  They went 5-5 ATS during that stretch.  The Pelicans excited the league immediately following the completion of a trade with the Portland Trail Blazers that brought SG CJ McCollum for very little in return.  The Pelicans immediately went on a run as CJ stepped forward to be the team’s new scoring leader.  Then reality set in and they have gone 1-4 over their last 5 games.  The immediate pop they got was indeed due to CJ McCollumk being a great scorer… they of course returned to reality when they realized that they start Jaxson Hayes at PF and an assortment of junk everywhere else.  There are big problems with the Pelicans right now as SF Brandon Ingram is out with a hamstring injury… and SG CJ McCollum just joined the injury list with the league’s health and safety p[rotocols… after those guys only C Jonas Valanciunas is really god enough to actually start in the NBA.  The bumps and bruises are coming.  The front office will have more ping pong balls for the NBA draft lottery.  The Pelicans may not even keep the 10th spot and that play-in game.  BTW PF Zion Williamson is done.  He will not be making a productive return to the NBA unless it is in another jersey… and even then it will be short lived… the cat is 300 LBS with a foot injury.

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The Suns are 54-14 on the season, but 36-32 ATS.  They have logged 34 Overs, 33 Unders, and 1 Push.  They are 25-6 in away games.. Just slightl;y more dominant than they are in home games… BTW they are the most dominant team in the NBA whether it be on the road or at home.

The Pelicans are 28-40 on the season, but 33-34-1 ATS.  They have notched 27 Overs, 39 Unders, and 2 Push.  They are 16-19 in home games.  They are not any good on the road either.

The Suns are 5th in scoring with 114.0 ppg, 7th in rebounds with 45.6 per game, and 2nd in AST/TO ratio with 2.1. They rank 6th on defense while allowing only 106.1 ppg. 

The Pelicans are 22nd in scoring with 108.2 ppg, 10th in rebounds with 45.3 per game, and 15th in AST/TO 1.8.  On defense they rank 14th while allowing 109.9 ppg from opponents.

Our prediction for Tuesday, March 15th is…. Suns 121 - Pelicans 105

The Suns will roll the Pelicans…not as hard as they did the Lakers… but a simple roll will make a win happen.  The Pelicans will have very little scoring on the court… but they will have more defense than the Lakers did.  Look for a big point spread considering which Pelicans will miss the game.

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Phoenix is 30-15 ATS while revenging a home loss the last 3 seasons.
Phoenix is 9-0 ATS this season when revenging a home loss vs same opponent.
New Orleans is 11-25 ATS after a division game the last 3 seasons.

Suns: PG Chris Paul (thumb) Out ** PF Cam Johnson (quad) Out ** 

Pelicans:  SG CJ McCollum (covid) Out ** SF Bradon Ingram Out **

Suns: SF Mikal Bridges, PF Jae Crowder, C Deandre Ayton, SG Devin Booker, PG Cameron Payne

Pelicans:  PF Jaxson Hayes, SF Naji Marshall, C Jonas Valanciunas, PG De’Vonte Graham, SG Herbert Jones