Suns vs Pelicans Props – Best Player Prop Bets on February 3rd

• Player prop bets have been posted for tonight’s game between the Phoenix Suns and New Orleans Pelicans
• Suns guard Devin Booker is expected to play in his second game since recovering from a hamstring injury that held him out of four prior outings
• Read below for analysis on the available bets and the best picks on the card

So far, the season has not played out the way that the New Orleans Pelicans expected it would.

The Pels are 7-12 and have the second-worst record in the Western Conference. The optimism that came with the hire of head coach Stan Van Gundy and free agent signings Steven Adams and Eric Bledsoe has turned to speculation about who will no longer be on the team by the trade deadline. New Orleans has lost 10 of its last 13 games, and is back in action tonight against Phoenix, who is 11-8 this season and fifth in the conference standings.

Despite the perceived gap in class between the two sides, the Suns are just 2.5-point favorites on Wednesday night. Phoenix star Devin Booker recently missed four games with a hamstring injury, but is looking to build off the 24-point performance he had in his return to action in a win over Dallas on Monday.

Suns vs Pelicans Player Prop Bets

Odds taken from FanDuel on Feb. 3rd

Lessons Learned from Game 1

Phoenix beat New Orleans at home in their first meeting this season, 111-86, on December 29th. Although the Suns won that game handily, they did so on the strength of Jae Crowder’s 21 points, and solid performances off the bench from players like Cameron Johnson.

Johnson has since worked his way into the starting lineup, and he’s fourth in usage percentage among the team’s top six players in terms of minutes played.  Even though he’s become a bigger part of the Suns’ offense, he’s been more inconsistent as of late.

He logged double-digit point totals in seven of his first ten games, but he’s only had four such outings in his last nine games. Meanwhile, Zion Williamson has been on a tear defensively, and counting on Johnson to get over the 11.5-point threshold is a risky proposition.

Statistically, the Suns haven’t been quite as aggressive on offense in road games as they have been at home – a trend that is surprising because the four games that Booker missed this season were all played in Phoenix.

The @Suns young wings help pick up the home W vs. Golden State! #WeAreTheValley

Mikal Bridges: 20 PTS, 5 AST
Cameron Johnson: 13 PTS, 3 3PM pic.twitter.com/HeGk6fNgj9

— NBA (@NBA) January 29, 2021

New Orleans has given up the second-most points from three-point shots in the league, and Phoenix has attempted the seventh-most threes this season. That number has dipped quite a bit in recent games for the Suns, and over their last three, they have scored an average of 29.7 points off of three-pointers, which is seventh-lowest in the NBA during that stretch.

Johnson started the season hot from beyond the arc, but has seen his numbers from distance decline over the course of the season. In conjunction with his up-and-down scoring and Williamson closing down on him, taking the under of 2.5 threes made is a sensible play. Point guard Chris Paul made four-of-seven from three on Monday against Dallas, but has only made more than two three-pointers in five games this season, and hasn’t done so in consecutive games.

The Pick: Cameron Johnson Under 2.5 Three-Pointers Made (-104)

Finding a Winning Pels Play

The Pelicans have been one of the most productive rebounding teams in the league with Adams under the basket, but he has effectively missed the last two games with a calf injury and is questionable tonight.

.@Zionwilliamson gets the rebound and goes coast-to-coast for the two-handed jam! pic.twitter.com/p5Afcyerqk

— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) January 24, 2021

Still, that doesn’t exactly translate to added rebound opportunities for Williamson, who has generally come away with fewer boards against teams that shoot threes as frequently as Phoenix does. The Suns have one of the lowest paces of play in the NBA, and will space things out on the floor as a natural function of their offense.

Williamson has pulled down nine-or-more rebounds in just three of his last ten games, and will likely be needed away from the paint on defense. He and Brandon Ingram are both good candidates to finish under their rebounding projections, with Ingram the better value but Williamson more likely to hit.

The Pick: Zion Williamson Under 8.5 Rebounds (-134)