NBA 2022/23, on Thursday, 08.02.2023
In connection with my Nets Suns tip on today’s NBA big match, I was confident of victory in the betting shop around the corner when placing my Bet365 sports bet, whether I was actually right with my guess?
I think so, because in the course of my forecast I will make clear to the reader why Brooklyn is not in a promising starting position due to the injury to Kevin Durant and the departure of Kyrie Irving …
The Suns were swept by the Hawks last Thursday, but the injury-plagued Arizonans still managed to win eight of their last 10 NBA games for the second time this season.
They won the first 8-2 series without Chris Paul, while Devin Booker was unable to contribute to the current winning streak. Both injury-prone superstars have only played 12 games together for their franchise this year anyway.
This also explains why the Black and Violets only have a record of 29 wins to 26 losses and will probably not be able to snatch the lead of the Western Conference from the Nuggets.
The bottom line is that the Suns are still a functional squad, but without Devin Booker, Cameron Payne and Landry Shamet, they are not currently capable of taking on the NBA’s truly best teams.
And normally, when it comes to a duel against the Nets, I would rather invest my money in one of our recommended sports betting bonuses than in a win bet on the Suns.
That’s because the New York Islanders own the fifth-best points differential per 100 possessions of any NBA team and have been able to string together the league’s longest back-to-back winning streak this season (12 games).
The Nets have won 17 of their last 19 NBA games in which NBA icon Kevin Durant has been available, but at the same time have a 6-7 record in games in which “Durantula” has had to rest.
The fact that Durant has already had to sit out the last few games due to injury and will probably not be able to play against the Suns is therefore an important reason why I have sided with the visitors in my Nets Suns forecast.
But that’s not all: New York’s other superstar, Kyrie Irving, made the headlines again. Because the enfant terrible of the NBA did not want to wait until the end of the season for a change and decided to bother the board earlier with it.
Knowing that a disgruntled Kyrie Irving can cause enormous problems, Nets officials quickly agreed and shipped him to Dallas in exchange for Spencer Dinwiddie and Dorian Finney-Smith within days of the Mavericks.
This manoeuvre, however, represents a personnel weakening that I don’t think the Black and Whites’ rump team will be able to cope with – at least not against a strong team like the Suns.
After all, the Black and Whites already managed to win a duel against Brooklyn 117-112 on 20 January, although the personnel situation was much less favourable for the Arizonans than tonight.
As in the last meeting, Devin Booker will again be absent for the Suns. But on the other side, the aforementioned Kyrie Irving, who was New York’s best player with 30 points in the last head-to-head clash, will be missing for the first time.
But his former team-mate Seth Curry also had a very decent game with 16 points in the last Nets-Suns duel, but will now also have to take a break on Wednesday due to an injury.
This all has of course had no inconsiderable influence on the Nets Suns odds of the German bettors, who now believe, as I do, that the guests have a good chance to win the match.
Accordingly, the basketball fan can expect a winning factor of 1.55 tonight, if the Suns should actually get the upper hand. For the opposite case, on the other hand, most providers offer betting odds of around 2.55.
Conclusion: Normally, I wouldn’t have put my money on the Suns in this duel, because without Devin Booker, the Black and Violets are capable of many things, but not of defeating the Nets in their best line-up …
However, things have deteriorated dramatically for the New Yorkers in recent days. Kyrie Irving has been traded to the Mavericks and main driver Kevin Durant is suffering from another injury.
Since the Suns already won a game against their upcoming opponent in mid-January in a worse starting position in terms of personnel, I expect them to come out on top again tonight all the more.
My Nets Suns tip: Phoenix wins.
