Suns vs Nets Betting Trends, Picks

The Phoenix Suns and Brooklyn Nets face each other later tonight - here's what you should bet.

PHOENIX -- The Phoenix Suns continue their road trip tonight against the Brooklyn Nets as both squads look to improve their current postseason positioning. 

Betting trends - and picks - for tonight's matchup:

Pick of the Game: Suns 2Q -0.5 (1 Unit)

In a game full of headlines such as Kevin Durant returning to Brooklyn and the Suns taking on their former teammates Mikal Bridges and Cameron Johnson, we're taking a niche bet that your sportsbook might not even know the odds of.

We've highlighted that Phoenix performs better on the road in terms of covering the spread, especially as favorites. This has been even more so in the second quarter as visitors.

In their last seven away games, the Suns have won the second quarter six times by an average of 3.9 points. Since Durant made his appearance in a Suns uniform, Phoenix nearly has a four-point margin of victory in the second quarter when they're away favorites and the game total is 233 or higher (eight games).

Now, we can factor in Brooklyn's struggles in the second quarter. On the season, the Nets are 24th in second quarter scoring margin at -1.0 points overall and -0.6 points at home. 

On the other hand, Phoenix is +2.0 points overall and +1.5 on the road. 

With an injury to Dorian Finney-Smith, teammate Cam Thomas, one of the top candidates for the Sixth Man of the Year, has been inserted into the starting lineup. While they can adjust rotations to make up for the loss of quality bench minutes, the move to the starting five takes a premium scorer off the bench.

The Suns' fourth-quarter struggles have been too prevalent recently to trust them in a full-game bet in this spot. We'll find our spot within the game against a team that has lost three of their last four second quarters.

Trend of the Game Pick: Suns-Nets UNDER 233 (.5 Unit)

via KillerSports.com

While the Suns are going to be on the fifth game of their dreaded seven-game road trip, the Nets have had the luxury of playing their last four games at the Barclays Center. After the primetime matchup with Phoenix, they will be on the road for one game before returning home for four more games.

Since 2022, when teams have had four straight home games followed by one road game before coming back home, the under is 8-1. 

As a team, the Nets are average in most categories, including shot selection. Luckily for the Suns, Brooklyn is 20th in the amount of their attempts coming from 0-3 feet away. The majority of their shots coming from a further distance are encouraged when backing an under.

On top of that, Brooklyn is top-ten in limiting shots and is sixth in field goal percentage allowed against shots from 10-to-16 feet away. The Suns rely on this spot on the floor more than any other team in the league. 

When Phoenix plays a team ranked top-12 in not allowing shots from that range, they are 8-3 to the under. If the opposition is top-six in defending the mid-range, the under is 6-2. 

Brooklyn fits both of those criteria which partly explains the 112-116 result in their first contest, which also went under.