It is Round 2 between the San Antonio Spurs and the Phoenix Suns this Friday. Will the Spurs double down on their mastery of Phoenix? Or, will Kevin Durant and the Suns successfully avenge their loss to San Antonio last Wednesday?

Catch this game live on Friday, November 3, 2023 at 10 AM, Manila time

Away: San Antonio Spurs (2-2/1-1 Away)

Projected Starting Five:

  • Jeremy Sochan
  • Devin Vassell
  • Keldon Johnson
  • Victor Wembanyama
  • Zach Collins

The Spurs will be looking to prove that their stunning 115-114 road win over the Suns last Wednesday was not a fluke. To some extent, that’s also a call for Keldon Johnson and Devin Vassell to prove what they did in that contest was also a sign of what they’re capable of rather than just a flash in the pan. Johnson led the Spurs in that game with 27 points, while Vassell stuffed the stat sheets with 18 points, six rebounds, five assists, and three steals. 

And don’t forget about Victor Wembanyama, who passed his first test in a head-to-head against an older unicorn version AKA Kevin Durant, as the rookie scored 18 points with eight rebounds and four blocks. San Antonio was outrebounded by the Suns, 43-37, but was plus-9 in field-goal attempts in part because the Spurs did not seem to be intimidated by Phoenix’s interior defense and in fact outscored the opposition there by 16 points (56-40). Also worth mentioning is the fact that the Spurs are 7-2-1 against the spread in their last 10 trips to The Valley.

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Home: Phoenix Suns (2-2/1-1 Home)

Projected Starting Five:

  • Grayson Allen 
  • Devin Booker (questionable)
  • Josh Okogie
  • Kevin Durant 
  • Jusuf Nurkic

You know that Kevin Durant is aching to face the Spurs again after the way the previous meeting concluded. A Kevin Durant hungry for revenge is one of the last players anyone would wish to face in an NBA game, and he’s about to get his shot at getting back at Phoenix. In the first matchup against the Spurs, the future Hall of Famer dropped 26 points on 12/19 shooting with seven assists and two steals. 

The Suns will continue to miss the services of Bradley Beal, while Devin Booker is questionable. Should Booker return, that is certainly going to be a tremendous boost for the Suns, who are inside the top 10 in the league so far this season in both adjusted offensive rating and adjusted defensive rating. Also don’t sleep on the pair of Eric Gordon and Grayson Allen, who may still be hot after combining for 39 points and nine triples in the loss to the Spurs. Phoenix has the best ATS win-loss rate (57.5%) in the NBA in games after a loss since 2020.

PREDICTIONS:

Spread: The Suns (-8) cover the spread.

Over/Under: The total (222.5) hits the Under.