Update: Booker has been ruled out with an ankle injury, while Eric Gordon has been taken off the injury report and is good to go. Both Beal and Nurkic are probable, so they’re going to suit up. The line hasn’t changed and I do still like Oklahoma City as the ATS pick. The total is now 232 and I actually now like the over here with the Suns having most of the roster intact outside of Booker.
Western Conference heavyweights collide Sunday evening as the Oklahoma City Thunder (41-18) will face off against the Phoenix Suns (35-25) at Footprint Center. The Thunder are in contention for the conference’s top seed but the Suns are likely viewed as the bigger title threat. These teams played once earlier in the season, with the Thunder winning 111-99 in a game that didn’t feature Devin Booker for Phoenix. Both teams come into this contest off a loss.
The Thunder are clean on the injury front. Phoenix won’t submit an official injury report until 3 p.m. ET, but the status of Booker, Bradley Beal and Jusuf Nurkic are worth monitoring. Booker appeared to suffer an ankle injury late Saturday, while Nurkic had an injury earlier in the game. Beal returned from a hamstring injury and played just 20 minutes, getting ejected.
The Thunder are 5.5-point favorites according to DraftKings Sportsbook, with the total coming in at 233.5. Oklahoma City is -225 on the moneyline while Phoenix is +185.
Thunder vs. Suns, 9:30 p.m. ET
Pick ATS: Thunder -5.5
Even if Kevin Durant does suit up on the second night of a back-to-back set, he’s likely to be dealing with a limited supported cast. Phoenix is 5-5 ATS with no rest and 4-5 ATS with a rest disadvantage. The Thunder are 8-5-1 ATS with a rest advantage and are 16-12-1 ATS as the road team. Even though that number goes to 9-9 ATS as a road favorite, a healthy Thunder squad is easier to back against a potentially depleted Suns roster. I like Oklahoma City to take advantage of its opportunity and deliver a big win Sunday evening.
Over/Under: Under 233.5
The Thunder are the most over-friendly team in the league based on percentage, but have gone 2-1-2 on overs since the All-Star break. The Suns have gone under their totals in every game since the break, and the previous meeting between these teams went well under this number. With Phoenix potentially missing three starters, I like the under in this one.