A Western Conference duel takes place in the late window tonight as the Phoenix Suns head to the Bay Area to play the Golden State Warriors. While the outlook for these teams projects toward separate directions, the Suns are feisty enough to challenge most teams on a given night. However, the Warriors won’t keel over without a fight as Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler take on Devin Booker’s scoring prowess.
Here’s a Suns vs. Warriors prediction and pick on DraftKings Sportsbook for Friday’s matchup.
Suns vs. Warriors prediction, preview
The Suns have operated without offseason acquisition Jalen Green for most of the young season but remain 3-4 in the meantime despite the young scorer’s absence. The good news is that Devin Booker has taken yet another step as the lead option, averaging 30.0 PPG with 7.4 AST on a very efficient 51.1% from the field and 45.7% from three. Phoenix sits 12th in team PPG, seventh in assists, and top-10 in both steals and blocks as well. However, there’s not much else to feel great about here. The roster remains devoid of true high-end talent outside of Booker as Grayson Allen, Royce O’Neale, Ryan Dunn and Mark Williams round out the starting five for now. While a couple of those names are quality role players, none are real difference-makers for games like tonight’s. Plus, Dillon Brooks also remains sidelined, so the Suns are missing one of their premier perimeter defenders as well. Despite an abundance of centers, the team also falls just 20th in rebounding.
The Warriors are positioned for another quality campaign, though the 4-3 start leaves a bit to be desired. Still, they have an aging but talented duo of Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler at the top who can secure wins nearly on their own with complimentary role players throughout the rotation. Golden State comes in at 14th in PPG while shooting 10th-best from three-point range and dishing out the eighth-most assists. The team also ranks ninth in steals, though the negatives are that they’re 25th in turnovers and 21st in rebounding. However, this is still a top-12 defense in terms of opponent scoring which may just let Booker get his numbers while forcing the rest of the Suns to beat them. Plus, Curry (26.6 PPG, 4.4 AST) and Butler (21.4 PPG, 5.6 REB) have some backup in Jonathan Kuminga, who averages 17.4 PPG with a team-high 7.1 boards. This roster is more well-constructed than Phoenix’s, and even Brandin Podziemski and Draymond Green can have their moments in the spotlight.
Suns vs. Warriors pick, best bet
On DraftKings Sportsbook, the Warriors enter as -9.5 favorites with -410 odds to win on the Moneyline. The Suns come in at +320 underdogs to win outright with a game total of 232.5 points.
It’s important to note that Butler is questionable to play with a back issue, but even if he doesn’t suit up, a Warriors win still feels within their grasp. The name of the game here is forcing anyone besides Booker to step up — while Allen averages 16.7 PPG as a great shooter, he’s not built to carry a large role and neither is anyone else on the Suns’ roster. While Phoenix’s superstar likely gets his numbers as the lead guy, the continued absence of Jalen Green does hurt the nightly outlook and missing Brooks doesn’t exactly help either, even as chaotic as his play often becomes. The Suns also just really don’t have the defense to stop anyone either, giving up the seventh-most points per game along with the eighth-most rebounds to opponents.
If Butler plays, this may get ugly quickly. If not, the Warriors still have what it takes to cover.
