NBA 2022/23, on Thursday, 17.11.2022
Despite all the euphoria about the 2022 World Cup, the match between the Phoenix Suns and the Golden State Warriors was a must for today’s NBA tips. This match is simply too exciting for that!
The defending champions don’t seem to be running smoothly on the West Coast yet, but the home side is much more shorthanded, which is why I’m expecting another gala performance from the outstanding Stephen Curry in my Suns Warriors betting tip.
The Suns have struggled since the start of the season, something they weren’t used to last year. Last year, their top six players missed an average of just 14.3 games and at least four of them were on the floor in 75 of the 82 NBA games.
This year, however, Fortuna seems to have turned her back on Arizonans! One of those six players (Jae Crowder) has been completely absent so far, while another, Johnson, will be out for several months due to injury.
Chris Paul – the third of the group – has had to sit out the last few games due to an injury and doesn’t look quite as spry as he did a few months ago. As a result, the Suns are well served to have a positive record at all (8-5).
What keeps the Suns afloat is an outstanding Devin Booker, who scores almost exactly the same as last year. Mikal Brideges is also a mainstay on the offensive end – these are two players the Warriors need to pay close attention to.
However, the Dubs benefit from the fact that Phoenix lost their last two games against Magic (97:114) and Heat (112:113) – especially due to the absence of Chris Paul.
The loss to Miami was close, but I predicted it correctly. Against Golden State, with the current line-up, the defending champions can be expected to put even more pressure on the Suns
I thought long and hard about whether I should prefer a win bet on the Californians in my Suns Warriors tip, or place a player bet on their best 3-point shooter in franchise history.
Given that the Dubs have a negative record of 6-8, I lean towards the latter. However, for the sake of completeness, it must be added that the Yellow and Blue put up their best performance of the season the day before yesterday against the Spurs (132-95).
Nevertheless, Stephen Curry remains my favourite for a successful bet tonight. Because what the point guard of the defending champions is able to do at the moment is almost supernatural.
Steven Curry is averaging 34.5 points per game, while his true-shooting percentage has now broken the 70% mark.
If it stays that way, he would once again break his NBA-best mark of 66.9% set last year for a player scoring at least 30 points per game.
With an additional 62.9% scoring rate from mid-range, the Golden Boy is also hitting from all angles and all positions, which is why even the spares-weakened Suns will have enormous problems taking him out of the game.
The Suns have won the last two head-to-head duels, but in both games they had personnel advantages on their side that aren’t there this time.
For example, Chris Paul was still on the floor in the 107-103 win in March, while Stephen Curry was missing on the Californians’ side in the 105-134 dismantling of the Warriors on October 26, 2022.
This time, however, it is for the first time that on one side Chris Paul, Cameron Johnson and Jae Crowder are all out at the same time, while on the other side Stephen Curry is in perhaps the best form of his life.
Nevertheless, sports bettors do not hesitate for long to assign the slight underdog role to the defending champions. That’s because a look at the Suns Warriors odds reveals that the Dubs are the slight underdog on the markets with win odds of 2.05.
Summary: The Suns had better than average luck last year when it came to the health status of their players.
This year, on the other hand, the Arizonans have had to deal with a lot of bad luck and will now have to play the Warriors again without some of their top performers.
The defending champions, meanwhile, have played their best game of the season against the Suns and have the NBA’s best scorer in Stephen Curry, who will run like hell against these short-handed Suns.
My Suns Warriors tip: Curry with over 28.5 points!
