NBA Over/Under Action – Hawks at Suns
For many sports betting fans the Atlanta Hawks are the Phoenix Suns. Okay, maybe not. But the Atlanta Hawks are somewhat like what the Phoenix Suns used to be. That is, the Hawks are a somewhat more reliable team straight-up and against the spread. Atlanta has cooled off some since their fantastic start to the NBA season, but they’re still a viable basketball betting option on most nights. They have a record of 22 and 14 straight-up. Although their record of 19 and 17 against the BetUS online betting spread isn’t that great, their away record against the spread, 10 and 7, is actually very good. This is an up and coming team in the Eastern Conference.
The Phoenix Suns have found a silver lining to their season. Shaquille O’Neal is playing better this season than he has in years, but Phoenix still doesn’t really have a defensive presence on the court. Instead of being tough defensively, they’re slow and weak. That’s not a good thing for NBA betting fans unless betting against the Suns becomes a habit. Betting against the Suns on almost every night might actually be a good thing to do. Their 13 and 20 against the spread record and 6 and 12 home record against the spread means that this team is usually a nice bet against in almost every case.
Here are the BetUS online wagering odds on this game.
Atlanta Hawks + 6 ½ – 110 + 235 O 212 – 110
Phoenix Suns – 6 ½ – 110 – 275 U 212 – 110
Here are a few online wagering trends that might help us find a good online bet in this game.
The Atlanta Hawks are 0 and 5 against the spread in their last 5 games overall.
The Atlanta Hawks are 4 and 1 against the spread in their last 5 games against a team from the NBA Pacific Division.
The Phoenix Suns are 2 and 5 against the spread in their last 7 games overall.
The Over is 13 and 5 in the Phoenix Suns last 18 games overall.
The BetUS Total in this game seems like a very high one at 212. But look into it further and it makes sense.
The Phoenix Suns are still the highest scoring team in the NBA. They have racked up over 110 points in 5 out of their last 10 games. Only once in those last 10 games has the Suns not scored over 100. That was a loss to San Antonio.
The Atlanta Hawks have scored over 100 in five of their last 10 games as well. But the difference is that the Hawks will also get themselves into a defensive game against a defensive minded team.
No matter what Coach Terry Porter is trying to do in Phoenix, Amare Stoudemire, Steve Nash and O’Neal, are not defensive minded players. I forget how many times Shaq stood at the other side of the court waiting for the Suns to toss him the ball for an easy lay-up the other night.
That’s not where you want your best blocker.
I’m not going to let the BetUS Total intimidate me. The Phoenix Suns should put up close to 110 in this game. If the Hawks keep this game close, and my feeling is that they will, then the over should be within reach in the fourth quarter.
Hawks vs. Suns Prediction:
I’m making an online bet that the game between the Phoenix Suns and Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night goes over the BetUS Total of 212.
