In the last game before the All-Star Break, the winner from the Suns vs Clippers game will be able to move up to or stay in 4th place in the Eastern Conference by next Friday.
My Suns Clippers tip, meanwhile, trusts that the positive Kevin Durant mascot effect after the success over the Kings will also come into play in the home game against the Californians.
Because this seems to inspire the Arizonans to top performances at the moment. The oddsmakers see the hosts as slight favourites.
If you bet on the Suns these days just before the All-Star Break, you can’t really go wrong. For right now, the mere announcement of the biggest NBA trade of the 2022 season was enough to elicit a significant uptick in performance from the Black and Purple.
For while Kevin Durant was indeed traded to the Arizonans a few days ago, an injury means fans will have to wait until after the All-Star Break to see the NBA icon in action.
Nevertheless, the mere presence of “Durantula” in the stands is enough to inspire his team to peak performance. Everyone at the Suns knows that with such a big-name addition, winning the title this year is almost a must.
Against Sacramento, Kevin Durant sat directly on the sidelines and indirectly spurred his future teammates on to top performances. In the end, the score was 120-109 for the Suns.
Looking back, Phoenix has now won five of its last six NBA games and today’s match against the Clippers is particularly suitable for sports betting fans to continue to trust in the great atmosphere at the Footprint Center.
Phoenix welcomes Lob City at home again, Durant will be present once more and the Clippers have also been largely spared from injury: Three good reasons to be infected by the euphoria that currently prevails among the Black and Violets.
However, tonight’s game against the Clippers will not be a walk in the park. In fact, one of the reasons I’m putting my money on the Suns is that the bookies aren’t trading them as clear favourites.
Just as Phoenix has two superstars in Chris Paul and Devin Booker, the Californians have two real titans in Kawhi Leonard and Paul George who are currently playing at roughly the same level.
The Clippers, under the direction of Kawhi Leonard, defeated the Warriors last night 134-124 – what a statement. But their physical style of play won’t intimidate the Suns equally.
The Suns are known for their excellent defence – and the Clippers, who like their upcoming opponents have also celebrated 32 victories this season, are not exactly at ease with this defensive work.
Four of the five duels between the two clubs in the 2022 calendar year have gone to the Suns, with the Clippers failing to break the 100-point mark once, with the exception of 113-109 in April last year.
The two regular-season meetings this season have gone to Phoenix by almost identical scores of 112-95 and 111-95, despite the fact that there were almost exactly two months between the games.
If the Suns Clippers odds weren’t so evenly matched, I think I would feel little need to use the Bwin app to place a home win bet.
Indeed, both teams are not quite as evenly matched as the bookies currently suggest, when you take all the surrounding circumstances into account.
The Suns bet has only become a “must” since I learned that the bookies are offering around 1.87 for a win by the Arizonans.
Conversely, 1.95 is currently being traded on the markets for a Clippers win, which I think is very optimistic.
Especially since Lob City usually struggles mightily against the Suns defence even with their superstars.
Conclusion: I can very well see the Clippers, even at their best, failing to crack the 100-point mark against the Suns tonight.
With the entire second half of the season still ahead of both clubs, it’s not a matter of life and death, but I’ve seen a willingness among many Suns players to want to make their mark in front of Kevin Durant in the stands.
The added motivation of soon being in the title hunt with one of the best NBA players of all time seems to be fueling Devin Booker and his teammates at the moment.
My Suns Clippers tip: The home side wins.
