Monday night will feature a Western Conference matchup between the San Antonio Spurs and the Phoenix Suns. The Spurs have propelled themselves near the top of the standings with eight straight wins. They defeated the Trail Blazers in Portland in their last game 125-103 behind 29 points from Victor Wembanyama. It was the Spurs fourth win on the road in as many tries. The Suns have won two straight games after losing five of their first six games. They defeated the Rockets 102-99. They held the Rockets to 38% shooting from the field and 29% from three to earn their first winning streak of the year.
On paper, this seems like a large point spread that the Spurs are receiving on the road against a Suns team that made the playoffs last season. But with how well the Spurs have played on the road, the point spread for tonight’s game is below the team's point differential in road games this season. The Spurs are 4-0 in road games with a winning margin of 14.8 points. Like last year, the Spurs are led by their depth. Stephon Castle, Devin Vassell, Julian Champagnie, Dylan Harper, and Keldon Johnson have all gotten off to great starts and have supported Wembanyama as he has put up MVP numbers. Wembanyama is averaging 29 points, 12 rebounds and 3.9 blocks in his first 10 games. This group has led the Spurs to averaging 117.8 points per game while only allowing 108.1, and they have won four of their last five games by double digits. The Suns have turned their fortunes around with better production on offense, but they are in trouble to potentially take a step back in success against a Spurs defense that ranks 8th in points allowed and 5th in defensive rating.
The Spurs have the defensive versatility to be able to slow down Devin Booker, Jalen Green, and Mikal Bridges, but the Suns don’t have the personnel to contain Wembanyama. I have the Spurs winning this game handily with their defense, rebounding, and depth.
Spurs vs Suns prediction: Spurs -8.5(-110 is available at the time of publishing. Playable to -10.
