Phoenix made it four losses on the bounce on Thursday and are now 1-5 on the season after a 119-132 loss to Portland. It was another putrid defensive display from Jordan Ott’s troops, who have the worst defence in the league and they don’t look any closer to turning that around after this performance, with a 129.4 defensive rating. Phoenix gave the visitors almost anything they wanted at the rim, where Portland went 23/34 and drew eight fouls to really dominate down low. Phoenix weren’t able to respond in kind, with a poor interior performance on the offensive end as well, with Dillon Brooks, Jalen Green, Collin Gollespie and Khaman Maluach all really struggling from the floor. Foul trouble didn’t help the hosts, as Devin Booker, Miles Bridges, Green and Bridges all ran into trouble there, with Booker fouling out late in the piece. Despite that, he was the star with an efficient 33 points, while Bridges continued to work his way into some offensive form with 18 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals.
Orlando’s start under new head coach Sean Sweeney has not been a good one, now with a 2-5 record after a poor 94-103 loss to Washington on Tuesday. At home, Orlando went into the contest as 3.5-point favourites, but without Paolo Banchero (ankle), Anthony Black (rest) and Jalen Suggs (knee), their offence again looked woeful. It looked like the hosts were going to be in control of the game in the early goings, as they went on a 13-0 run to end the first quarter, building a 37-28 lead in the process, but things quickly fell apart on the offensive end. Orlando scored just nine points in the third quarter, going 4/21 from the floor, including 1/13 from three, and taking no free throw attempts in the period to almost literally throw the game away, as Washington got out to a 68-79 three-quarter time lead. There was no way back for the hosts from there, despite Franz Wagner, Desmond Bane and Tristan da Silva combining for 24 fourth quarter points. Finishing with a 104.4 offensive rating, it was Orlando’s fourth terrible offensive display in their last five games, despite Wagner dropping 24 points and four assists and Bane scoring 20, as their role players continue to struggle to find any form of scoring consistency.
It’s the second game of a back-to-back for Phoenix, putting them even further on the back foot in this matchup. They may get Rasheer Fleming (ankle) back, while Black returns for Orlando. We saw how much Black was missed on Tuesday, after having been a lynchpin of their offence in his earlier two games, including a 10-assist showing against Toronto. Against the worst defence in the league, we’ll see an improved offensive showing from Orlando and their rest advantage really gives them the upper hand. Phoenix have yet to cover a game this season and I don’t see that changing as favourites.
Best
Orlando +1.5 ($1.87)
Golden State made it five wins on the bounce on Tuesday, toppling Phoenix 116-113. It was a well-earned win for the hosts, who lost Draymond Green early in the third quarter courtesy of a flagrant two, but they found an offensive flow from there. GS scored 42 points in the third to level the scores heading into the final quarter, and from there Golden State led for most of the way but had some clutch-time nerves to leave the door open for Phoenix. However, Collin Gillespie missed a last-second game-tying three attempt, seeing the hosts hold on for another win thanks to another Steph Curry special. The guard finished with 34 points, six rebounds and seven assists and Brandin Podziemski had 20 points of his own. Yaxel Lendeborg added 16 points, five assists and one block and Charles Bassey enjoyed his minutes after Draymond’s ejection, finishing with 19 points and eight boards.
Miami survived a helluva scare in Los Angeles on Thursday, requiring overtime to beat the Clippers 117-116. It was Klay Thompson who came up clutch, draining a corner three off a sideline out of bounds play with one second remaining to win the game for the visitors, capping off a vintage showing from the veteran guard. Thompson ended with 30 points, going 8/17 from deep in the process, and Bam Adebayo was right there with him, with 35 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. After showing plenty of weakness on the defensive end this season, it was Miami’s offence that struggled in LA, with a 19-43 second quarter sending them into the locker room down 52-67 at the half. However, they chipped away at the deficit to force overtime, with some dogged defence in the fourth causing six LA turnovers and 14 transition points for the visitors, helping them eventually come out on top.
It’s an interesting battle coming up on Friday, with a resurgent Golden State team taking on a desperate Miami side on night two of a back-to-back. Al Horford (rest) and Brandon Williams (quad) return for the hosts and that depth could prove to be a difference maker, and while Miami aren’t set to rest any players in this game, an OT clash on the road, with travel factored in, makes this a very tough game to back up to. That said, this is not as bad of a team as their 3-5 records makes out and they will show that against Golden State. The hosts are not well equipped to handle Giannis Antetokounmpo and Adebayo’s size will also cause them some issues. I only have Miami as slight outsiders, making them value as big dogs.
Best
Miami +7.5 ($1.90)
