Phoenix Suns vs Oklahoma City Thunder Prediction, 4/2/2023 Preview and Pick

Game: Phoenix Suns vs Oklahoma City Thunder

Date: Sunday, April 2, 2023

Location: Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, OK

TV: Bally Sports Oklahoma

The Oklahoma City Thunder will go up against the Phoenix Suns at Paycom Center on Sunday.

The Suns took the court against the Timberwolves and notched a win by a score of 107-100 in their last contest. With respect to personal fouls, the Suns ended up with 16 and the Timberwolves racked up 24 personal fouls. They converted 12 out of their 35 tries from downtown. Minnesota shot 66.7% at the free throw line by knocking down 8 of 12 shots. On top of that, Minnesota pulled down 54 rebounds (16 offensive, 38 defensive) and added 8 blocks. Minnesota distributed 24 dimes and had 4 steals for this game. Concerning the defense, Phoenix allowed their opponent to shoot 44.4% from the floor on 40 of 90 shooting. They also dished out 23 assists in the game while forcing the other team into 21 turnovers and having 11 steals. With respect to pulling down rebounds, they collected 48 with 15 of them being on the offensive end. At the charity stripe, the Suns converted 21 of their 27 attempts for a rate of 77.8%. Phoenix ended having earned a 41.7% FG percentage (40 of 96) and buried 6 out of their 20 three-point shots.

Devin Booker is a player who was a major contributor for the matchup. He recorded 29 points on 8 of 18 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 36 minutes and also totaled 3 boards. Booker ended up going 44.4% from the floor and dished out 5 dimes.

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Phoenix comes into this game with a record of 41-35 so far this year. They are losing possession via turnover 13.7 times per game and as a unit are committing 21.5 fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, Phoenix is pulling in 44.1 boards per game and has accumulated 2,073 dimes for the season, which is 3rd in the league in terms of passing the rock. The Suns are connecting on 37.6% on shots beyond the perimeter (928 of 2,471) and 79.4% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 113.6 pts per contest (17th in basketball) on 46.7% from the floor.

Defensively, the Suns have forced 14.6 turnovers per contest and they draw 20.1 fouls. They are ranked 3rd in basketball in allowing assists to their opponents with 1,779 surrendered on the year. The Suns defense is allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 46.7% (3,033 of 6,496) and they relinquish 42.6 boards per game as a team. They are giving up 35.8% on 3-pointers and they are ranked 5th in the NBA in PPG allowed (111.7).

In their last game, the Thunder went home victorious with a score of 107-106 when they faced the Pistons. The Thunder were able to pull down 28 defensive rebounds and 10 offensive rebounds totaling 38 in this matchup. They also coughed it up 9 times, while getting 7 steals in the game. The Pistons committed 22 fouls in the game which took the Thunder to the charity stripe for a total of 25 attempts. They were able to make 19 of those for a rate of 76.0%. In reference to shooting from downtown, Oklahoma City converted 10 of 29 attempts (34.5%). At the conclusion of this game, the Thunder shot 39 for 87 from the field which had them at 44.8%. The Thunder allowed the Pistons to convert 40 of their 80 tries from the field which left them shooting 50.0% for the game. They finished 48.5% from downtown by connecting on 16 of 33 and ended up going 10 out of 14 at the free throw line (71.4%). In relation to rebounding, Oklahoma City permitted Detroit to get 42 in all (10 on the offensive side).

Jalen Williams was important for the Thunder for this contest. He knocked down 11 out of 19 for the contest for a field goal rate of 57.9%, and had 8 rebounds. Williams scored 27 points in his 37 mins on the hardwood and had 6 assists for the game.

Oklahoma City has a record of 38-39 this year. The Thunder commit 21.0 personal fouls every game and they go 80.8% from the free throw line. They are assisting teammates 24.4 times per contest (21st in the league) and they are turning it over 13.1 times per contest. Oklahoma City has accounted for 9,044 points for the year (117.5 per game) and they pull down 43.6 rebounds per contest. On the offensive side of the ball, the Thunder are connecting on 46.6% from the floor, which is ranked 24th in basketball.

The Oklahoma City defense concedes 36.2% on shots from 3-point land (1,002 of 2,765) and opponents are connecting on 77.3% of their free throw shots. They give up 25.9 assists and 46.6 total boards per game, which ranks them 21st and 30th in the NBA. The Thunder on the defensive end are ranked 20th in basketball in points given up per game with 116.4. They are able to force 16.9 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 47.3% from the floor (15th in basketball).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Phoenix

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