The Portland Trail Blazers (6-7) are back at home on Tuesday night, looking to get on track following a miserable 1-4 road trip.
The Blazers welcome the Phoenix Suns (8-6), who saw their five-game winning streak come to an abrupt halt in Sunday’s 124-122 home setback to the Atlanta Hawks.
The Suns led the Hawks by 18 points going into the fourth quarter, but Phoenix allowed 47 points in the final 12 minutes to suffer the loss.
Let’s look at the Suns vs. Blazers prediction and picks for Tuesday night’s tilt at Moda Center in Portland, tipping off at 11:00 p.m. ET on NBC.
Suns vs. Blazers Prediction, Tuesday NBA Picks
Let's see how things look in the middle of the Western Conference.
- The Blazers jumped out to a respectable 5-3 start, capped off by handing defending champion Oklahoma City its only loss of the season on November 5.
- Following that upset, Portland stumbled on a 1-4 road trip, which included a buzzer-beating loss to Orlando and an overtime defeat to Dallas.
- In Sunday’s 138-133 loss to the Mavericks, the Blazers posted 18 more field goal attempts than Dallas, but couldn’t hold onto a 12-point lead.
- Phoenix led Atlanta 103-81 early in the fourth quarter on Sunday, but got outscored 43-19 in the final 9:53 to suffer its first loss since November 4 against Golden State.
- The previous four opponents the Suns faced (which included the Clippers twice) all owned losing records prior to facing Atlanta.
- The Suns allowed an average of 103.0 points per game during their five-game hot streak before the Hawks’ 124 -point explosion on Sunday.
- Suns G Grayson Allen is sidelined for Tuesday’s matchup with a quadriceps injury. The former Duke sharpshooter is averaging 18.5 points per game and torched the Pelicans for 42 points on November 10.
- Phoenix G Jalen Green won’t return to action anytime soon, as the former Rocket is out for at least a month with a hamstring injury.
- Blazers G Jrue Holiday is doubtful with a calf injury, while G Scoot Henderson hopes to make his season debut later this month, as he is dealing with a hamstring injury.
Phoenix Suns
- The Suns rank sixth in the NBA in 3-point percentage at 38.2%. However, Allen’s absence hurts Phoenix’s long-range game, as he is shooting 44.7% from deep.
- In Sunday’s loss to the Hawks, the Suns converted 10-of-30 attempts from downtown. It was their worst showing from 3-point land since hitting 10-of-34 shots in their opening night win against Sacramento.
- The Suns started 0-4 on the road before defeating the Clippers and Mavericks.
- Last season, the Suns split four meetings with the Blazers. The home team captured all four matchups.
Portland Trail Blazers
- The Blazers are the second-fastest team in pace at 103.9, a shift from last season's 99.51.
- Portland is the only team in the league with a net rating of 0. The Blazers own an offensive rating of 116.3 as well as a defensive rating of 116.3
- Entering Tuesday’s action the Blazers are one of five teams tied for the fewest home games played at five. Portland is 3-2 at Moda Center, as all five opponents are in the top-seven in the Western Conference standings.
Suns vs. Blazers Picks & NBA DFS
Here are three top Suns vs. Blazers picks to target on Tuesday. Key PrizePicks player projections are headlined by Phoenix G Devin Booker, Portland G Shaedon Sharpe, and Blazers C Donovan Clingan.
Suns G Devin Booker vs. Blazers Projection: 29.5 Points
- Booker sits eighth in the league in scoring average at 28.4 points per game.
- The former Kentucky star has struggled from 3-point range recently, knocking down 3-of-24 attempts in the last five games.
- Booker strung together three straight road scoring performances of at least 31 points before getting held to less than 26 points in each of the last two away outings.
- The Blazers rank 29th in opposing 3-point field goal percentage at home (39.6%), as Booker will look to turn around his recent long distance shooting woes.
- Last season, Booker scored at least 28 points in all four meetings with Portland. In the final two games at Moda Center, he scored 37 and 34 points.
Blazers G Shaedon Sharpe vs. Suns Projection: 24.5 Points
- Sharpe is second on the Blazers in scoring, averaging a career-high 22.1 ppg.
- The seventh pick of the 2022 draft has busted out of late, scoring 31 or more points in three of the last four games.
- In Sunday’s overtime setback at Dallas, Sharpe scored a season-high 36 points, but also shot 12-of-32 from the floor.
- Sharpe hasn’t seen the same success at home, averaging 18.4 ppg and shooting 38.3% from the field.
- The Blazers have faced six of the top ten defenses from a field goal percentage standpoint. In those games, Sharpe is posting 21.3 ppg, but has scored fewer than 21 points five times. Phoenix is currently 15th in the league in this category.
- In three meetings with Phoenix last season, Sharpe racked up 12.3 ppg and shot 37.5% from the floor.
Blazers C Donovan Clingan vs. Suns Projection: 19.5 Pts+Rebs
- Clingan posted his second double-double of the season in Sunday’s loss to Dallas. The former UConn standout scored 16 points and pulled down 11 rebounds.
- In the last nine games, Clingan has posted double-figure scoring twice and has scored at least 10+ points at home once this season.
- The second-year pro has been more consistent from a rebounding perspective, grabbing at least 8 boards in four straight games.
- On October 27, Clingan put together his best game, scoring 16 points and snatching 14 rebounds in a win over the Lakers. Since that performance, he has finished with less than 19 points and rebounds in six of the last nine games.
- In three matchups during his rookie season against the Suns, Clingan averaged 5.3 points and 6.0 rebounds a game.
The Suns and Blazers both look to bounce back from close losses on Sunday as they meet for the first time this season on Tuesday night.
There’s never been a better time to add to the excitement of every NBA moment than with PrizePicks.
There is a wide variety of player stat projections on the NBA board, so you can build your Lineup however you’d like — with no salary or positional restrictions. Just pick at least two player stat projections to build your Lineup on PrizePicks.
Check out the Playbook throughout the remainder of the NBA season for more analysis for your PrizePicks and NBA DFS Lineups.
