Denver Nuggets vs Phoenix Suns Prediction, 1/23/2021 NBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Denver Nuggets vs Phoenix Suns

Date: Saturday, January 23, 2021

Location: Phoenix Suns Arena in Phoenix, AZ

TV: Fox Sports Arizona

Odds/Point Spread: Denver (+1.5)

Phoenix Suns Arena is the venue where and the Phoenix Suns (8-5) will take on the Denver Nuggets (7-7) on Saturday. The odds on this game have Phoenix as 1.5-point favorites. The total is set at 223.

The Denver Nuggets took the court against the Oklahoma City Thunder and went home with a win by a final score of 119-101 in their last game. Denver walked away from the contest having earned a 43.8% field goal percentage (46 of 105) and made 14 of their 42 3-pointers. At the free throw line, the Nuggets buried 13 of 14 tries for a percentage of 92.9%. With respect to hauling in boards, they earned 58 with 18 of them being of the offensive sort. They also recorded 29 assists for the game as well as getting 11 steals and 3 blocks. In regard to defending, Denver let their opponent shoot 41.9% from the floor on 36 of 86 shooting. Oklahoma City totaled 22 assists and had 8 steals in this game. In addition, the Thunder had 41 rebounds (9 offensive, 32 defensive) and added 4 blocks. Oklahoma City finished the contest at 65.2% from the free throw line by knocking down 15 of their 23 attempts. They also converted 14 out of their 43 tries from beyond the arc.

Nikola Jokić is a guy who was important in this matchup. He finished with 27 points on 12 out of 21 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 28:25 minutes played and also collected 12 rebounds. Jokić finished shooting 57.1% from the field and also recorded 6 dimes. One more player that was a major contributor in the matchup for the Nuggets was Monte Morris. He collected 4 rebounds and tallied 5 dimes. He shot 63.6% from the floor for the contest via 7-of-11 (15 points). In all, Morris played for 21:29 minutes.

Denver will play this contest with a mark of 7-7 this year. They are averaging 115.6 pts per contest (5th in basketball) while connecting on 47.9% from the floor. The Nuggets are connecting on 37.3% from downtown (182 of 488) and 74.8% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Denver is pulling in 44.2 boards per contest and has accounted for 382 dimes this season, which is 6th in the NBA in terms of passing. They turn it over 14.4 times per contest and as a squad they are committing 21.0 fouls per contest. When they are on defense, the Nuggets have forced 16.0 turnovers per contest while drawing 21.9 fouls. They give up 38.5% on 3-point attempts while they are 19th in basketball in PPG from their opponents (111.7). The Nuggets defensively are allowing a FG percentage of 47.9% (224 of 306) and they relinquish 40.8 rebounds per contest as a squad. They are 23rd in basketball in allowing assists to the opposition with 370 relinquished this season.

When they last stepped on the court, the Phoenix Suns got the win with a final of 109-103 when they faced the Houston Rockets. The Suns were able to pull down 37 defensive rebounds and 8 offensive rebounds for a total of 45 for the matchup. They blocked 11 attempts while earning 6 steals in this matchup. The Rockets committed 19 fouls for the game which took the Suns to the charity stripe for a total of 19 attempts. They were able to knock down 17 of the free throws for a percentage of 89.5%. With respect to shots from beyond the perimeter, Phoenix converted 8 of their 34 tries (23.5%). When this game wrapped up, the Suns ended up going 42 for 89 from the field which gave them a rate of 47.2%. The Suns allowed the Rockets to bury 37 of their 88 tries from the field which had them shooting 42.0% in the matchup. They finished 32.3% from beyond the perimeter by going 10 of 31 and walked away from this one shooting 19 out of 22 at the free throw line (86.4%). When talking about rebounding, Phoenix allowed Houston to pull down 39 in all (7 offensive).

Deandre Ayton ended up being important for the Suns for the game. He converted 11 of 15 in the game giving him a field goal percentage of 73.3%, which gave him 26 points. Ayton pulled down 17 rebounds in his 35:34 minutes of playing time and had 3 assists for the contest. One more player that ended up playing a role for Phoenix was Devin Booker. He left the arena with 24 points in 34:33 minutes played via 10 of 18 shooting for the matchup. Booker walked away from this one going 55.6% from the field and also contributing 2 assists and 5 total rebounds.

Phoenix has a mark of 8-5 on the year. Phoenix has 1,428 pts for the season (109.8 per game) and they average 42.7 boards per contest. The Suns are committing 21.1 fouls per contest and they shoot 81.5% from the free throw line. When it comes to offense, the Suns are shooting 46.8% from the field, which ranks 13th in basketball. Their rate of earning assists is at 26.2 times per contest (8th in the NBA) and they cough up possession 13.4 times per game. The Suns on the defensive end are ranked 5th in basketball in PPG given up with 106.5. They are forcing their opponents into 13.6 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 46.1% from the floor (18th in basketball). The Phoenix defense allows 36.3% on shots from distance (141 of 388) and opponents are converting on 73.3% of their free throw shots. They surrender 21.9 assists and 43.7 total rebounds per game, ranking them 1st and 10th in basketball.

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Denver (+1.5)

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