The Phoenix Suns and Washington Wizards meet in an afternoon tilt on Sunday. The Suns are 28-21 overall and 14-10 on the road this season, though Phoenix is coming off a loss on Friday evening. Washington is 9-39 overall and 3-20 at home, with this game taking place at Capital One Arena in the nation's capital. Damion Lee (knee) is out for Phoenix. Kyle Kuzma (shoulder), Tyus Jones (ankle), and Bilal Coulibaly (back) are listed as questionable for Washington, with Marvin Bagley III (back) and Isaiah Livers (hip) ruled out.
Tip-off is at 3:30 p.m. ET in Washington. For this game, SportsLine consensus lists the Suns as 11.5-point favorites, while the over/under, or total number of points Vegas thinks will be scored, is 239.5 in the latest Suns vs. Wizards odds. Before you make any Wizards vs. Suns picks, you'll want to see the NBA predictions and betting advice from the advanced computer model at SportsLine.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times and has returned well over $10,000 in profit for $100 players on its top-rated NBA picks over the past five-plus seasons. The model enters Week 15 of the 2023-24 NBA season on a sizzling 48-30 roll on all top-rated NBA picks this season, returning over $1,700. Anyone following it has seen huge returns.
The model has set its sights on Suns vs. Wizards. You can head to SportsLine now to see the picks. Here are several NBA betting lines for Wizards vs. Suns:
- Suns vs. Wizards spread: Suns -11.5
- Suns vs. Wizards over/under: 239.5 points
- Suns vs. Wizards money line: Suns -614, Wizards +444
- PHX: The Suns are 11-12-1 against the spread in road games
- WAS: The Wizards are 7-16 against the spread in home games
- Suns vs. Wizards picks: See picks at SportsLine
Why the Suns can cover
Phoenix projects to have the two best players on the floor in Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. Durant, a 10-time All-NBA selection and former NBA MVP, is averaging 28.5 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 5.8 assists per game this season. He is also hyper-efficient, shooting 53.5% from the field and 45.3% from 3-point range. Booker is also red-hot right now, averaging 34.9 points and 55.6% shooting over the last nine games. He is generating 28.2 points and 7.2 assists per game this season, and the duo of Durant and Booker leads a Phoenix offense that is scoring 117.9 points per 100 possessions for the season.
Phoenix is one of the best shooting teams in the NBA, converting 56.4% of 2-point attempts and 37.9% of 3-point attempts, and the Suns are also generating 24.9 free throw attempts per game. From there, the Suns have the better defense in this matchup. While the Wizards rank near the bottom of the NBA in defensive efficiency, defensive rebound rate, second-chance points allowed, and assists allowed, Phoenix is comfortably in the top quartile of the league in several key defensive categories. That includes free throw prevention (21.9 attempts allowed per game) and 2-point percentage allowed (53.2%). See who to back at SportsLine.
Why the Wizards can cover
Washington has the benefit of home-court advantage, and the Wizards have paths to success on both ends of the floor. On offense, the Wizards are averaging almost 28 assists per game, and Washington is shooting 55.2% from inside the 3-point arc. Washington is also in the top three of the NBA in both fast break points (17.1 per game) and points in the paint (55.9 per game). The Wizards can take advantage of Phoenix's defense, with the Suns giving up 119.5 points per 100 possessions over the last five games.
Opponents are shooting 48.1% from the field and committing only 11.4 turnovers per game against Phoenix during that stretch, and the Suns are yielding more than 1.15 points per possession during the 2023-24 season. The Wizards are creating 14.6 turnovers per game on defense, ranking in the top eight of the NBA, and Washington is also in the top 10 with 5.5 blocked shots per game. See who to back at SportsLine.
How to make Suns vs. Wizards picks
The model is leaning Over on the total, projecting 243 combined points. It's also generated a point-spread pick that hits almost 60% of the time. You can only see who to pick at SportsLine.
So who wins Suns vs. Wizards, and which side of the spread hits nearly 60% of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the spread you need to jump on, all from the model on a 48-30 roll on top-rated NBA picks this season, and find out.
