Both the Miami Heat and the Phoenix Suns are on a two-game win streak. Which team gets to extend their unbeaten run to three games?
Catch this game live on Wednesday, April 14, at 10 AM, Manila time
HOME TEAM: (Phoenix Suns (38-15, 21-8 at home)
Projected Starting Five:
- PG: Chris Paul
- SG: Devin Booker
- SF: Mikal Bridges
- PF: Jae Crowder
- C: Deandre Ayton
The Suns won their second game in a row on Monday, beating the Houston Rockets at home, 126-120. Phoenix’s outside shooting in that game was hotter than the temperature of the suns’ surface.
Jae Crowder went bonkers from deep, going 8-12 on his threes and finishing with 26 points. As a team, the Suns made 25 3-pointers on 55 attempts. The Suns could keep launching threes early against the Heat to see if they’re still in the zone. The Suns have drilled a total of 42 threes on 47.7% shooting in their last two games. Those are unsustainable numbers in the long run, but Phoenix can still take advantage of Miami’s defense that is just 27th in the NBA with 14.5 3-pointers allowed per game.
The Suns didn’t need to go off from downtown when they beat Miami in March on the road, 110-100. The Suns made 12 threes on 37 attempts, while Devin Booker scored 23 points on 10-19 shooting. Phoenix is 6-1 against the spread in the team’s last seven Wednesday (Manila) games.
ROAD TEAM: Miami Heat (28-25, 13-12 on the road)
Projected Starting Five:
- SG: Kendrick Nunn
- SG: Duncan Robinson
- SF: Jimmy Butler
- SF: Trevor Ariza
- C: Bam Adebayo
Miami started its four-game road trip on a positive note, beating the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday, 1-7-98. The Heat are now 8-3 against the spread in their last 11 road games and have covered the spread in 5 of their last 7 games overall. Bam Adebayo played a key role in the win over Portland, scoring 22 points on 9-14 shooting.
But the Heat are also looking for Adebayo to do a better job defensively against Suns big man Deandre Ayton, who has been playing well of late and scored 17 points with 16 rebounds in the first meeting between these teams this season. Kendrick Nunn led the Heat in the loss to Phoenix, scoring 25 points with 5 threes. Nunn scored 15 points against the Blazers, so he has at least momentum going for him.
The Heat have the third-best scoring defense in the NBA, as they are allowing just 107.2 points per game. They also allow the fewest points in the paint per contest 40.3.
PREDICTIONS:
Spread: The Suns will play their second game in as many days, but fatigue might not factor that much for them since they don’t have to travel for the rematch against the Heat. Take the Suns to cover -4.
Over/Under: This could be a shootout only a few could see coming, as both teams have been knocking their 3-pointers at a high rate lately. Take the over 214.5.
