The Phoenix Suns (62-15) visit the Paycom Center Sunday to take on the Oklahoma City Thunder (22-55). Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET. Below, we look at the Suns vs. Thunder odds and lines, and make our expert NBA picks, predictions and bets.
The Suns have already clinched the Western Conference’s top seed and home-court advantage throughout the 2022 NBA playoffs. They’re an incredible 31-7 on the road and have a better road record than their league-best 31-8 home record.
Phoenix will be resting its top scorer, G Devin Booker, and starting center Deandre Ayton. The Suns are coming off an 8-point loss Friday to Memphis which snapped a 9-game winning streak. Phoenix has covered 7 of its last 10.
As for the Thunder, clearly out of play-in tournament contention, it’ll also be down many of its key personnel.
The Thunder are 7-2 against the spread (ATS) over their last 10 and are 46-27-4 ATS on the season. OKC is coming off a 9-point home loss Friday to the Pistons, failing to cover as 4-point underdogs.
Suns at Thunder odds, spread and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 12:24 p.m. ET.
- Money line: Suns -1600 (bet $1600 to win $100) | Thunder +800 (bet $100 to win $800)
- Against the spread (ATS): Suns -14.5 (-110) | Thunder +14.5 (-110)
- Over/Under (O/U): 221.5 (O: -112 | U: -108)
Suns at Thunder key injuries
Suns
- F Jae Crowder (ankle) out
- G Devin Booker (rest) out
- C Deandre Ayton (rest) out
Thunder
- G Josh Giddey (hip) out
- G Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (ankle) out
- G Lu Dort (shoulder) out
- F Darius Bazley (knee) out
[tipico]
Suns at Thunder odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Suns 118, Thunder 109
Money line
PASS.
Betting a -1600 money line just doesn’t make sense given the potential risk vs. return. On the other side, the Thunder are 10-29 at home and without several of their top players. PASS the money line here.
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Against the spread
LEAN to the THUNDER +14.5 (-110).
In theory, the Suns may not have much to play for and should be giving players near the bottom of their rotation more minutes. That’s going to even more true as Booker and Ayton sit.
While the Thunder are also short-handed, they’ve consistently covered as large home underdogs this season. OKC is 18-15-4 as a home underdog. It has also been covering at a far higher rate s of late.
The Suns are 3-3 ATS over their last 6 while the Thunder are 7-2 ATS over their last 9. With Phoenix likely not playing its stars heavy minutes, the Thunder should be able to keep things close.
Over/Under
BET on the OVER 221.5 (-112).
Throughout the course of the season, the Thunder’s strength has been their defense. As of late, that hasn’t been the storyline as they had the fourth-worst defensive rating (120.4) in March.
Even without Booker and Ayton, the Suns should be able to score at will behind players that will play with pace like F Cameron Johnson and G Cameron Payne.
In March, the Thunder ranked 4th and the Suns 6th in pace as well, so this should be a high-energy game.
Lastly, both the Suns and Thunder are 8-3 O/U in their last 11, so they’ve been consistently topping the projected total, as I expect them to do on Sunday as well.
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