Oklahoma City Thunder vs Phoenix Suns Prediction, 3/8/2023 Preview and Pick

Game: Oklahoma City Thunder vs Phoenix Suns

Date: Wednesday, March 8, 2023

Location: Footprint Center in Phoenix, AZ

TV: Bally Sports Arizona

Footprint Center is the site where the Phoenix Suns will try to defeat the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday.

The Thunder faced the Jazz and walked away with a win by a score of 129-119 in their last game. Oklahoma City ended the contest having earned a 50.6% field goal percentage (44 of 87) and made 14 of their 37 three-point shots. From the free throw line, the Thunder converted 27 of their 33 shots for a percentage of 81.8%. Concerning grabbing boards, they earned 42 with 11 of them being on the offensive end. They also dished out 24 assists in the game in addition to forcing the other team into 16 turnovers and having 9 steals. When talking about defense, Oklahoma City allowed the other team to shoot 48.9% from the field on 43 of 88 shooting. Utah recorded 30 assists and had 5 steals for this contest. On top of that, Utah collected 39 rebounds (12 offensive, 27 defensive) and earned 4 blocked shots. Utah shot 81.5% from the free throw line by burying 22 of their 27 shots. They also buried 11 of their 37 shots from downtown. In relation to fouls, the Thunder finished with 20 while the Jazz had 25 fouls.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is one player who was important in this contest. He ended up scoring 38 points on 10 of 17 shooting. He played for 37 mins played and also pulled down 7 rebounds. Gilgeous-Alexander ended up going 58.8% from the floor and also recorded 4 dimes.

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Oklahoma City steps onto the court with a record of 30-34 for the season. They are averaging 118.2 pts per contest (2nd in the NBA) while connecting on 47.0% from the field. The Thunder are shooting 36.1% on 3-pointers (786 of 2,177) and 79.9% from the charity stripe. As a team, Oklahoma City is pulling in 43.7 rebounds per contest and has totaled 1,593 assists for the year, which ranks 20th in the league in terms of passing the rock. They are turning it over 13.3 times per game and as a basketball team are committing 21.5 fouls per game.

On the defensive end, the Thunder have forced 17.0 turnovers per game while drawing 20.3 fouls. They give up 35.8% from beyond the arc and they are ranked 20th in the NBA in points per game allowed (116.6). The Thunder are giving up a field goal percentage of 47.1% (2,668 of 5,663) and they surrender 46.7 boards per contest as a team. They are 12th in basketball in giving up assists to the opposition with 1,638 surrendered for the year.

When they last stepped on the court, the Suns got the victory with a final of 130-126 against the Mavericks. The Suns corralled 32 defensive boards and 9 offensive rebounds for a total of 41 for this contest. They coughed up the ball 9 times, while getting 5 steals in this game. The Mavericks had 22 fouls in this matchup which got the Suns to the charity stripe for a total of 25 shots. They were able to convert 20 of those for a rate of 80.0%. When discussing 3-point shots, Phoenix buried 12 of their 34 tries (35.3%). At the conclusion of this game, the Suns went 49 for 89 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 55.1%. The Suns permitted the Mavericks to convert 38 of their 77 tries from the field which had them shooting 49.4% for the contest. They wrapped up this game 39.5% from downtown by hitting 15 of 38 and ended up going 35 out of 38 from the charity stripe (92.1%). In the matter of how they attacked the glass, Phoenix permitted Dallas to grab 31 in all (5 on the offensive glass).

Kevin Durant was important for the Suns for this contest. He buried 12 of 17 for the matchup for a rate of 70.6%, and had 7 rebounds. Durant racked up 37 points in his 40 mins on the court and accounted for 3 dimes in this matchup.

Phoenix has a win-loss mark of 36-29 for the season. As an offensive unit, the Suns are shooting 46.6% from the field, which ranks them 23rd in the league. Phoenix has scored 7,346 points on the campaign (113.0 per contest) and they collect 44.2 rebounds per game. They are earning an assist 27.1 times per contest (4th in the league) and they turn it over 14.0 times per contest. The Suns have committed 21.1 fouls per game and they connect on 79.1% from the free throw line.

The Suns on the defensive end are ranked 3rd in the league in points per game surrendered with 111.1. They have forced 14.6 TO's every game and have allowed teams to shoot 46.5% from the field (6th in the NBA). The Phoenix defense surrenders 35.7% on shots from beyond the perimeter (742 of 2,078) and their opponents are connecting on 79.0% of their free throw attempts. They have allowed 23.3 dimes and 42.8 rebounds every game, which has them ranked 5th and 11th in the NBA.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Oklahoma City

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