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Western Conference action continues on Wednesday night with a matchup between the Phoenix Suns (14-15, 10-18-1 ATS) and the Houston Rockets (15-12, 17-18-2 ATS). The Rockets played a home game against the Pacers before hosting this game (Note: This article was published before the results on the Indiana/Houston game). The Suns just gave up 50 points to Luka Doncic in a loss to the Mavericks, going down 128-114 as 4.5-point home favorites. Houston's last road game was a win in New Orleans 106-104, winning outright as 7.5-point dogs. This is the first of four matchups between these teams this season. Tipoff is scheduled for 8:00 EST from the Toyota Center in Houston.
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The frustration in the air is growing in Phoenix. The Big Three has not been able to play together because of injuries, and their role players have not been able to step up and help the team win games. The Suns are currently the 11-seed in the West, despite all their star power they would miss the playoffs if the season ended today. Bradley Beal was the big offseason acquisition, but he he has only played in six of their 29 games this season. In their last game, the Suns were led by Greyson Allen with 32 points in the loss to the Mavericks.
Kevin Durant is 5th in the NBA in scoring with 30.3 PPG, while adding 6.2 RPG and 5.5 APG. He is shooting 46.9% from deep with 2.1 made threes per game. KD struggled last time out, only scoring 16 points on 4-11 shooting against Dallas, but scored 40 on Portland two games earlier. Devin Booker is next up in scoring with 27.4 PPG, but showed frustration with his t eammates last game after they did not run back on defense in transition. Booker has had 20 or more in his past 10 games, including a high of 34 against Brooklyn. With Beal out, Eric Gordon has been the 3rd scorer with 13.2 PPG, stepping into the starting lineup when Beal cannot go. Grayson Allen (13.0 PPG) and Jusuf Nurkic (12.1 PPG) have started every game they have been healthy this season.
Josh Okogie and Drew Eubanks are the top performers off the bench. The Suns rank 13th in the NBA in offensive efficiency and 20th in defensive efficiency according to Dunksandthrees.com. Phoenix plays slow on offense, their tempo ranks 26th in the NBA based on their pace of play.
Injury Report:
Out: Bradley Beal, Damion Lee
Questionable: Jusuf Nurkic, Josh Okogie