NBA Betting Odds and Picks (Tuesday, August 4): Predictions for Suns vs. Clippers

Suns vs. Clippers Betting Odds

Odds as of Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. ET and via FanDuel. Get up to a $500 risk-free bet at FanDuel today or see more offers and reviews for the best online sportsbooks.

A lot of NBA analysts felt as if the Phoenix Suns shouldn't have been invited to the bubble. Now the Suns are one of the few teams still undefeated in seeding with two strong performances thus far.

Tuesday's Pacific Division matchup between the Suns and Clippers will serve as an important contest for both teams: The Clippers will hope to create more separation between themselves and the Nuggets, Rockets and Thunder for the second seed in the West, while the Suns need to keep up with the teams at the bottom of the conference chasing the Memphis Grizzlies for the last playoff spot.

This is the fourth meeting of the season between these two teams, with the Clippers leading the series 2-1. The Suns' lone victory came at the beginning of the season, when the Clippers were without All-Star Paul George. The Suns have had their fair share of struggles against the Clippers in the past as that early-season win was the Suns' first in the series since the 2015-16 season.

With the Clippers opening as heavy 9-point favorites against the Suns for Tuesday, let's take a deeper look into this matchup.

Phoenix Suns

The Suns were able to pull out a pretty impressive comeback in their last game against the Mavericks behind another amazing 30-point performance from Devin Booker, who was riddled with foul trouble the whole night and played only 31 minutes.

The brightest addition to Phoenix's lineup has been Cam Johnson, who has absorbed a good portion of the minutes missed by Kelly Oubre. Johnson was known as a great shooter coming out of North Carolina, and that hasn't changed in the NBA — he's shooting 40% from 3-point range this season, going 4-for-8 against Dallas on Sunday.

The five-man lineup of Ricky Rubio, Devin Booker, Johnson, Mikal Bridges and DeAndre Ayton boasts a Net Rating of 14.6 and looks to have found the perfect balance of scoring punch and flexibility with their defensive assignments.

Bridges has also stood out in bubble play, but he's done it on the defensive end by drawing the assignment of the opposing team's best wing player. While Bridges is growing, the assignment of trying to slow down neither Kawhi Leonard or Paul George in a difficult matchup.

The Suns excel at having Rubio get the ball in transition and push ahead, which allows them to highlight their rim-running big Ayton. The former first overall draft pick is showing a soft touch around the basket and is knocking down catch-and-shoot jumpers.

While Ayton started the season looking completely lost on the defensive end, he's drastically improved his play on that side of the ball by being attentive and going vertical at the rim rather than fouling. He'll draw a tough defensive assignment on Tuesday not because of who he is matched up against, but because the Clippers will constantly put him in a decision-making role in the pick-and-roll action.

Los Angeles Clippers

The Clippers come into this game riding their defensive prowess, holding their two previous bubble opponents to fewer than 105 points. They've been able to rely heavily on their two all-defensive caliber wing players to go along with the tenacious Patrick Beverly, who does an excellent job at the point of attack.

Not only are the Clippers doing an amazing job of slowing opponents down, but they're also shooting an absurd 49.3% from 3-point range on 83 attempts in their first two seeding games. The Suns just so happen to be one of the worst 3-point shooting teams still in play, giving up 36.5% from deep on the season.

Even with the Clippers being potentially without Lou Williams, who is still in his NBA-sanctioned quarantine, look for them to continue their style of play as they find their groove offensively.

The biggest concern for the Clippers all season has been their lack of team chemistry, but that appears to have been a product of their stars George and Leonard finally getting an opportunity to share the court for extended minutes. The two-man lineup of George and Leonard is rounding into form as they've now played 803 minutes together this season with a Net rating of +13.

Betting Analysis & Pick

This game has all of the makings of a high-scoring affair given the Clippers' newfound propensity to shoot from deep and the Suns having one of the best all-around scorers in the game in Booker.

Both teams rank inside the top-10 in pace of play by each getting more than 105 possessions per game. In what appears to be a more comfortable shooting environment without fans, this could turn into a track meet. I would bet the over as high as 232.

The Clippers look like a team on a mission right now and they certainly will not be deterred by the Suns, so I also like Los Angeles -9.

PICKS: Clippers -9; Over 230

[Bet $20+ on the Clippers at PointsBet and Win $125 if they make at least one 3-pointer]