Suns vs. Wizards Betting Odds
| Suns odds | -7 [BET NOW] |
| Wizards odds | +7 [BET NOW] |
| Moneyline | -305/+245 [BET NOW] |
| Over/Under | 224 [BET NOW] |
| Time | Friday, 4 p.m. ET |
| TV | NBA League Pass |
Odds as of Friday at 2:30 p.m. ET and via DraftKings. Get up to a $1,000 sign-up bonus at DraftKings today or see more offers and reviews for the best online sportsbooks.
The Suns and Wizards each have outside shots at the playoffs, but both teams are facing serious challenges.
Can the Wizards overcome the loss of Bradley Beal? How realistic are the Suns' postseason chances as they sit six games out of the No. 8 seed?
The two sides with dwindling hopes return to action on Friday.
Phoenix Suns
One of the biggest questions for the initial games in the bubble: Who is even playing? Let's break that down for the Suns.
Injury Report: Kelly Oubre, Jr. (out – knee); Aron Baynes (active – cleared from COVID-19)
Oubre this season has posted a usage rate of 20.5% and 18.7 points on 34.5 minutes per game. Per Cleaning the Glass, the Suns are 3.5 points per 100 possessions worse when he is off the court, but they actually play faster in that situation on average.
I don't think the Suns have a legitimate shot at making the playoffs, but the bubble is an excellent opportunity for them to try new rotations and offer Devin Booker a national spotlight.
One player who could use the bubble as a springboard for next season is Mikal Bridges, who has averaged 18.6 points in the bubble scrimmages after averaging 8.7 points per game this season. There is plenty of room for these young players to showcase their talent and earn bigger roles for the remainder of this season into next.
Washington Wizards
The Wizards have more significant injuries than the Suns. Here is the full list:
Injury Report: Garrison Mathews (questionable — personal); Bradley Beal (out — shoulder); Davis Bertans (opt-out); John Wall (out — Achilles); Gary Payton II (questionable — illness)
There's no real way to replace the All-Star talent of Bradley Beal, who has a heavy usage rate of 35.1% and leads the team in minutes per game. Can the Wizards muster enough to get by without him?
Per Cleaning the Glass, the Wizards are five points worse per 100 possessions when he's off the court. Without Beal and Bertans (in a much smaller sample size), they are 2.8 points worse. This presents a massive opportunity for the young talent to rise to the challenge.
Expect Rui Hachimura to get as much run as he can handle. He led the Wizards in scoring in each of the three bubble scrimmages with averages of 17.3 points and 7.3 rebounds. That's a significant uptick from his averages over their last 10 games before the shutdown (11.5, 6.2).
Betting Analysis & Pick
According to NBA.com, both of these teams play at a top-10 pace, have bottom-10 defenses and are middle of the road in Offensive Rating.
I think this total is too low as these teams will look to run. These two teams played in November with a total of 240.5.
I understand we will not see Beal, Bertans and Oubre, but this total is just too low considering how bad these teams are defensively and how fast they play. I also think there may be value on Hachimura's prop market if the books don't account for his potential uptick in usage.
The PICK: Over 223.5 (PointsBet) — I like this up to 225.5.
[Bet now at PointsBet. NJ and IN only.]
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