Phoenix Suns vs New Orleans Pelicans NBA Playoffs Game 3 Prediction and Betting Tips

The surprising win for the Pelicans in Game 2 in Phoenix tied the series at 1-1 and the Suns will have to find a way to turn things around again without Devin Booker who got injured in that game. Can the Suns justify the favorite tag ahead of Game 3?

It didn’t look like that after Game 1, but after Game 2 it’s clear that we have an exciting series between Phoenix Suns and New Orleans Pelicans in these NBA playoffs. The top seed in the NBA not only lost the second game, but they also lost Devin Booker due to a hamstring injury and he will be out indefinitely.

Phoenix Suns Stats:

Record (Regular Season +Playoffs): 65-19

ATS: 45-39-0

Over/Under: 41-42-1

Despite the fact that they had to go through the play-in tournament to even reach the playoffs as the eighth seed, New Orleans Pelicans proved that they belong here in the first two games against heavily-favored Phoenix Suns. The Pelicans won Game 2 and now they only need to keep the home-court advantage to win the series and cause a huge upset.

New Orleans Pelicans Stats:

Record (Regular Season + Playoffs): 39-47

ATS: 42-41-1

Over/Under: 33-49-2

So, here are my picks and predictions for Friday’s NBA matchup between the Phoenix Suns and the New Orleans Pelicans

Game 3 Info for Phoenix Suns vs New Orleans Pelicans

Date/Time: Friday, April 22, 2022, 9:30 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN (Stream the game online)
Location: Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, LA

Phoenix Suns vs New Orleans Pelicans Game 3 Odds Analysis

After being a double-digit favorites in the first two games of the series, the Suns enter Game 3 favored by just 1.5 points. Of course, that is expected for multiple reasons. Firstly, the series are now moving to New Orleans. Secondly, the Suns lost Game 2. And the last and probably the most important reason, the Suns will be without Devin Booker in this game.

Meanwhile, total points line dropped once again and now it’s set at 216.5 total points, despite Game 2 going over and ending with 239 points being scored. However, we are not surprised by this since the Suns will miss their primary scorer, which is bound to limit their offensive output and force them to play their well-known defense even harder in order to win the game.

Phoenix Suns vs New Orleans Pelicans Game 3 Picks

In addition to our betting picks for Suns vs Pelicans Game 3, you can also check our daily NBA predictions, as well as our NBA parlay picks. Now, let’s take a more detailed look at our picks for this duel:

Phoenix Suns to Cover the Spread (-1.5) @ -110 (Odds via Bet365)

The Suns are facing their biggest adversity this season since they don’t have a lot of room for mistakes at this point. The series are tied at 1-1, they’ve lost the home-court advantage, and they will be without Devin Booker for some time. So, everything is going the Pelicans’ way right now.

However, the Suns proved in the playoffs last season that they can overcome these obstacles. After all, they reached the NBA Finals despite missing Chris Paul for a chunk of the playoffs. We can see them consolidating now that they’ve had time to prepare for playing without Booker and win Game 3.

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Under 216.5 Total Points @ -110 (Odds via BetRivers)

The first two games have been completely different when it comes to total points and it’s clear that the Suns need to keep the points total down in order to win. This happened in Game 1, but Game 2 went over and the Suns lost it. Since we expect the Suns to win Game 3, we also expect the game to go under 216.5 total points.

After all, the Suns will be without their top scorer and while the other players have the quality to carry that offensive load, it’s bound to affect the team’s scoring output. Also, Booker’s absence will force the Suns to focus on their defense even more.

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Our Bonus Player Prop Pick: Deandre Ayton Over 19.5 Total Points @ -130 (Odds via FanDuel)

One of the main beneficiaries of Booker’s absence when it comes to having more chances to score is Deandre Ayton. The young center will have to carry the load offensively more than he’s used to, but there’s no reason that’ he can’t do this.

After all, he averaged 17.2 points per game in regular season, which is not that far from the 20 points he needs to score in this game to go over the line. Furthermore, he will go up against Jonas Valanciunas, who is not known for good defense, which is another reason why we expect Ayton to shine on the offensive end.

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