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What: Phoenix Suns (47-18) at Atlanta Hawks (36-30)
When: 5:00 PM AZ Time
Where: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Watch: Bally Sports Arizona
Listen: 98.7 FM
The Suns (5 games) and Hawks (2 games) are both in the midst of win streaks. One of them will be snapped this evening and with Atlanta being 1.5 games back of having home court advantage, they will be bringing their A-game. Phoenix needs to come ready.
Since the first outing between these two teams, a Suns win, Atlanta has gone 13-6 while Phoenix has gone 15-4. Both of these teams are about as hot as the clubs in the A-T-L and this should be a F-U-N game.
Injured List
Suns: Jae Crowder (ankle - out), Cam Payne (knee - out) and Abdel Nader (knee - out)
Hawks: De’Andre Hunter (knee - out), Cam Reddish (achilles - out)
Probable Starters
Phoenix: Chris Paul - Devin Booker - Mikal Bridges - Torrey Craig - Deandre Ayton
Atlanta: Trae Young - Bogdan Bogdanovic - Tony Snell - John Collins - Clint Capela
Keys to the Game
LIMIT THEIR TRIPS TO THE LINE
The Hawks average the 4th most free throw attempts in the NBA. Trae Young leads that movement with his Oscar-worthy “moves”, which have awarded him with 86 visits (9.5 attempts per game) over his last 9 games. As silly as it may sound since he is a really good shooter, the Suns need to make him do just that - shoot. Over that same stretch he’s only made 14 of 51 threes (27.4%) so he is in a bit of a slump. As long as Phoenix plays good D on Trae and Atlanta as a team, they can reduce their scoring opportunities.
WE NEED YOU, AYTON!
Deandre Ayton’s scoring and rebounding have been down as of late. We know he has it in him. On a positive note, he’s swatted 8 shots in the last 2 games. Clint Capela has made 12 of his last 14 shots and is averaging 15.9 rebounds over his last 11 games. With the Hawks’ big man being an anchor for them and a huge part of their success, the Suns need to keep a body on him and DA has the best chance of doing that.
OTHER NOTABLES
Chris Paul is averaging 20.8 points and 9.9 assists over the last 9 games and Devin Booker is scoring 30.7 points per game over the last 6. If those two can keep it hot, that will all but ensure a W for Phoenix.
Prediction
Suns win 124-116