A pair of Western Conference powerhouses wrap up Christmas Day in the NBA with a clash at Ball Arena. Tip-off between the Suns and Nuggets is set for 10:00 pm ET on ABC and ESPN and I’ve prepared a Same Game Parlay for the game.
I would also encourage you to head over to our NBA predictions for picks on the side and total for Sunday’s 5-game slate. Let’s dive in now.
The production of Bones Hyland has been an essential part of the Nuggets’ recent solid run. Over his last 10 outings he’s recording 11.4 points per game in just 19.5 minutes, proving a much-needed spark off the bench. The unwritten rule in the NBA says that role players tend to play better in home games, and that’s exactly what Hyland has been about this season. At Ball Arena he is putting up almost 14 points per game while shooting 43.2% from 3-point land. The game against the Suns should be high-scoring one, so the Nuggets will have to have every single player stepping up offensively in order to get the win. Phoenix has struggled to contain teams lately, and the Grizzlies and Wizards scored 125 and 113 against them in their last 2 games. I can see the Nuggets posting a similar number, and if that’s the case then Hyland should be able to get to 15 off the bench.
Aaron Gordon’s 3-point shooting has been on the raise for quite some time now. His resurgence started in November, when he averaged 1.4 makes from downtown on a mind-blowing 53.6%. He failed to make a three in only 3 of the 11 games played that month. He’s continued in similar fashion in December, scoring a three in 6 of 10 games, while averaging almost 20 points per game. Knocking down a three against the struggling Suns shouldn’t be a problem as Phoenix is allowing 38.5% of threes over their last 3 games, which ranks them in the bottom 10 of the NBA during that stretch. He’s faced the Suns 14 times in his career and has scored at least one three in 10 of those games.
In order for the first two bets of this SGP to land, we’ll need Nikola Jokic to record at least 10 assists in this game. The 2-time MVP has been putting up insane stats over his last 10 games, averaging almost a triple-double. His assists are at 9.9 during that stretch, he’s on a streak of 3 games with at least 10 dimes. Two of those games were against playoff-bound teams in Portland and Memphis, and both of them play really solid defense. Phoenix just allowed 30 assists in their last game, a home loss against the Memphis Grizzlies, and they are just not in good shape with all the injuries. Only the Golden State Warriors average more assists in home games this season than the Nuggets, I’m expecting Jokic to live up to the expectations and record at least 10 assists as Denver routs the Suns at home.
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