NBA 2021/22 on Saturday, 26.02.2022
Shortly after the All-Star break, the Phoenix Suns would love to pick up where they left off before the mini-break in their game against the New Orleans Pelicans! Especially since the Black and Violets’ winning streak up to that point was simply impressive…
Still, all that glitters is not gold! The Arizonans will win in my opinion, but in my Suns Pelicans tip I also go into some aspects that could cause problems for the home side in the long run…
Suns fans have had every reason to rejoice for a long time, but recently a few issues have surfaced that could cause problems for the Black and Purple after the All-Star Break. There is, for example, the personnel matter of Chris Paul.
CP3 will be out for up to two months, while the hoped-for transfer of Goran Dragic did not materialise in time for the trade deadline. The Slovenian preferred to switch to the Brooklyn Nets instead.
This suddenly creates the picture of a team that is surprisingly thin in the backcourt. Aaron Holiday was signed for this area of the court only a few weeks ago, but he will still not be able to replace Chris Paul.
These problems, however, will not trouble the Arizonans until the next few weeks at the earliest. In the first game after the All-Star Game against the Pelicans, the reserves of strength are still large enough to push disturbing thoughts aside for the time being.
After all, it should not be forgotten that the Suns won 18 of their last 19 NBA games before the short breather. Such a dominant streak doesn’t suddenly collapse overnight just because CP3 is now out against the Pelicans.
Especially since Chris Paul only played a minor role in the last showdown with New Orleans. It is much more important to pay attention to Devin Booker. As long as he’s working, I’m not worried about Phoenix getting their third win of the season over the Pelicans.
Because Devin Booker was simply outstanding in the last meeting with New Orleans with 24 points and was not nominated for the All-Star Game for nothing! The visitors were unable to find a remedy against him in their 110-123 defeat at the beginning of January!
This doesn’t mean that the Pelicans are a bad team in my eyes – in fact, I think they can get a place in the Play-In-Tournament. For that to happen, however, the interplay between McCollum and Ingram has to work better.
McCollum has only played five games for New Orleans and has scored an average of 28 points per game – remarkable! However, he has stolen Ingram’s thunder rather than complementing him.
Because since McCollum has been in the mix, Ingram has only cracked the 20-point mark once! However, both superstars will have to deliver if they are to propel New Orleans into playoff-worthy regions of the standings.
Shortly after the All-Star Game, however, I think a few more games will have to be played before the interplay really harmonises. Of course, the Suns, who are already at operating temperature, will benefit from all this – even without CP3.
Incidentally, the Suns have played not one, but two games against the Pelicans this season – and defeated them both by more than 12 points.
The sports betting markets are assuming – as they have so often before – another home win for the Arizonans! This one reaches an average odds level of just 1.29 on the betting markets.
Conclusion: The Suns have a little problem in the backcourt in the long run because Chris Paul will be out for a few months. So an additional point guard would be something nice from the perspective of the Black and Violets!
Nevertheless, this will not play too big a role tonight. Because the Suns were already outstanding before the All-Star-Break and also benefit from inconsistencies on the visitors’ side.
New Orleans already lost both games of the season against Phoenix, but acquired a quite capable player in CJ McCollum, who, however, has yet to really settle in with Brandon Ingram …
Consequently, my Suns Pelicans tip is: 10th consecutive home win for Arizonans!
