LA Clippers vs Phoenix Suns Prediction, Odds, Best Bets - Opening Week

Phoenix lost 122-96 to San Antonio in this building on Monday night, and the Suns have to turn around and play again a night later against a Clippers team that has not played since Saturday. Devin Booker carries the home team in scoring and assists, and the tension at Mortgage Matchup Center is whether tired legs undo the one edge Phoenix is supposed to own.

The Matchup

Phoenix is 3-6, scores 110.6 points per game and allows 119.0, and the Suns lost 122-96 at home to San Antonio on Monday night, a game that was gone early enough that the only real question was the margin. Devin Booker leads Phoenix at 25.2 points and 4.9 assists per game, and Miles Bridges leads the team at 8.1 rebounds. The home rotation is thin inside. Mark Williams is out after surgery on his left shoulder, and Jordan Goodwin is out, so the Suns defend the rim and the second unit with what is left.

Los Angeles is 2-7, scores 112.4 and allows 116.4, and the Clippers have not played since a 139-123 home win over New Orleans on Saturday, their best offensive night of the season after four straight losses. Darius Garland leads Los Angeles at 21.2 points and 7.0 assists per game, and Isaiah Jackson leads the team at 6.1 rebounds.

The Clippers bring their own absences west. Brandon Ingram is out after surgery on his right Achilles, Bradley Beal is out with inflammation in his right knee, and Jordan Miller and Yanic Konan Niederhauser are also out. Cam Christie is day-to-day with an ankle injury.

Both teams have played nine games, so these numbers still carry last season attached to them. Last season Phoenix outscored teams by 1.5 points per game and Los Angeles outscored teams by 1.2, and the blend changes nothing about the shape of this matchup. Two losing teams, neither of which guards, meet with the rested one on the road. DraftKings makes Phoenix a 4.5-point home favorite at Mortgage Matchup Center, with a total of 226.5 and the Suns at -180 on the moneyline.

Key Factors

Rest is the first fact of this game, and it is not close. Phoenix played on Monday night, at home, and spent the evening chasing San Antonio in a 26-point loss. Los Angeles last played on Saturday and has had two full days to prepare and travel. Back-to-back legs show up on defense first, in closeouts that arrive a step late and rotations that stop halfway, and defense is already Phoenix's problem at 119.0 points allowed per game, the worse mark in this matchup.

Garland is who those tired legs have to chase. He scores and creates in the same possessions, Jackson gives him a rolling target inside a defense missing its starting center, and the Clippers just put 139 points on New Orleans with that two-man game running the offense. Phoenix's counter is Booker, plainly the best player in the game, and a home crowd in a building where the Suns are 3-3. If Booker owns the night the way he can, the home team wins this game and probably covers it.

The honest risk travels with the visitor. Los Angeles is 0-4 on the road this season, its two best secondary creators are out, and a road team that has not won away from home is being asked to stay within two possessions in someone else's building. That record is the reason this is points and not a moneyline play. The Clippers do not have to win in Phoenix. They have to be close late against a team playing its second game in two nights, and that is a much smaller ask.

Every pick is published with its line before the game. Odds via consensus sportsbooks at time of writing and move constantly. Must be 21+. If gambling is a problem, call or text 1-800-GAMBLER.