Golden State Warriors vs Phoenix Suns Picks and Odds Dec 3
Golden State Warriors vs Phoenix Suns Betting Preview
WagerTalk NBA handicapper Tony Finn offers his Golden State Warriors vs Phoenix Suns betting preview for Friday, December 3. At the time of posting, the Warriors have climbed to a 7-point home favorite over the visiting Suns, with the total sitting at 216 points.
Stay on top of the latest NBA updates direct from Las Vegas!
Golden State Warriors vs Phoenix Suns Predictions
- Golden State Warriors -7 vs Phoenix Suns
- Total: 216 Points
- The Suns are 11-5 against the spread in their last 16 games.
- The Warriors are 21-5-1 against the spread in their last 27 games.
The Phoenix Suns (19-3, 1st in NBA – West) and the Golden State Warriors (18-3, 2nd in NBA – West) matchup for the second time in four days on Friday night at Chase Center. The defending Western Conference champs oppose the Warriors in a rematch Friday night in San Francisco without shooting guard Devin Booker.
The Pacific Division rivals set the stage for the rematch on Friday with bang-up performances on the NBA on TNT Tuesday finale at Talking Stick Arena in Phoenix.
Suns head coach Monty Williams mixed and matched his rotation against the Warriors when his leading scorer left Tuesday’s game midway through the first half. Booker grabbed his left leg on a drive to the rim that drew a foul on Otto Porter Jr. The Phoenix shooting guard exited the game minutes into the second quarter and didn’t return. The left leg that Booker grabbed was diagnosed as a strained hamstring.
No Devin Booker. No problem for coach Williams, his staff, and the Suns’ bench staying on point and earning a Suns 17th consecutive win, despite not having the services of Booker.
“They did a great job on Steph,” Golden State coach Steve Kerr told the national media following Tuesday’s game in downtown Phoenix. “(Mikal) Bridges was all over him. They did a lot of switching. Unfortunately, the good looks he did have, he didn’t knock them down, so he never found a rhythm. But I thought their defense had a lot to do with that.”
With help from Bridges, the Suns’ squad remained a tough out for the league’s reigning scoring champ. Curry has averaged just 18.7 points and has connected on a mere 36-for-111 (32 percent) from the field in his last six games versus Phoenix.
No Devin Booker. That is right. Next man up, the collective of the Suns had no problem setting a franchise record 18 consecutive wins on Thursday night’s 114-103 home win over the Detroit Pistons.
The Friday night rematch takes place with a different background than Tuesday’s game. Phoenix enters the rematch as the top team in Pacific Division and Western Conference, having moved a half-game ahead of the Warriors (18-3) with the win against the Pistons on Thursday.
Phoenix can add another franchise achievement to this team’s long list; Western Conference Champions has compiled the last two seasons. The Suns registered an 18th straight 2021-22 season win over Detroit minus the All-Star Booker on Thursday.
Landry Shamet started in place of Booker and finished with 14 points. Phoenix had seven players score at least 10 points versus the Pistons. Bridges tossed in 18, DA (Deandre Ayton) added 17 while grabbing 12 rebounds, and point guard Chris Paul was good for a double-double (12 points and 12 assists) in a record-setting night.
With four rotational players out — Frank Kaminsky (knee), Dario Saric (knee), Abdel Nader (knee), and leading scorer Booker — coach Williams got creative and issued Ish Wainright rare playing time in the first quarter.
The two-way player failed to score, but Wainright captured four minutes of action that included the D’Leager assisting Cam Johnson for a highlight-reel dunk.
Shooting guard Landry Shamet scored nine points in Tuesday’s win over the Warriors. Shamet got the start on Thursday night in place of the injured Booker. Johnson started for Booker in the second half of Tuesday’s game against the Warriors.
“We play the same way,” Johnson said in the Tuesday post-game presser, who scored 14 points on Tuesday. “They were defending us a certain way, so it didn’t change anything that we were doing. I had played with that lineup earlier in the game.”
“It’s our job collectively as a group to find a way to make up what he [Booker] brings to us on a night-to-night basis. We did it the other [Tuesday] night, and that’s something to build on,” Shamet added.
Phoenix will attempt to build upon its 18-game win streak while Golden State aims to take back the top spot in the Pacific and the Conference in the Associations Friday night feature event.
Phoenix Suns
The Friday night rematch of the teams that played each other just four days ago, Phoenix at Golden State, bumped the NBA on ESPN showcase of the Lakers vs. Clippers at Staples Center. The World Wide Leader in Sports Coverage will now televise the Suns and Warriors game in San Francisco on the Chase Center hardwood.
The Suns are a perfect 10-0 in their last ten contests scoring 112.6 points while surrendering an average of 102.4 points.
The media threw a dozen or more theories while speculating to how long Booker would be out of action with the hamstring strain and spoke to what the best rotation for the first five would or should be. The Suns are unique in being exactly what their opponents don’t want the opposition to be. Phoenix can play fast, be deliberate, but the No. #2 ranked defense in the league has the player personnel to switch on pick and roles and high ball screens rather than fighting through opposing bigs. As a result, the Suns make the opposition uncomfortable running their offensive sets.
The Suns exhibited their elite defense in Tuesday’s win over the Dubs forcing them into a season-high 23 turnovers. The Warriors also shot a season-low for a single game, connecting on only 41.9 percent from the field in the loss to the Suns.
Seven players, three reserves, scored double-figures in the Suns’ Thursday night win over the Pistons. Phoenix’s 18-game winning streak includes eight straight wins on the road.
Golden State Warriors
Of the Warriors’ 18 wins this season, 14 of those games have been decided by 10 points or more. The Warriors are 8-2 across their last ten games, averaging 110.1 points while holding their opponents to an average of 98.6 points per game.
Golden State’s franchise record for consecutive wins is 24. That 24 straight by the Warriors is the No. #2 record of successive wins behind the Los Angeles Lakers’ 33-game run in 1971-72.
Golden State Warriors vs Phoenix Suns Injury Report
Phoenix Suns
Dario Saric (knee) has been ruled out.
Frank Kaminsky (knee) is out.
Abdel Nader (knee) is out.
Devin Booker (hamstring) is out.
Golden State Warriors
Klay Thompson (Achilles) has been ruled out.
Andre Iguodala (knee) is out.
James Wiseman (knee) is out.
The depth of the Suns isn’t talked about enough. When Phoenix is involved in a dialogue or major media feature, point guard Chris Paul and Devin Booker are the main attractions and dominate the conversation and opt-eds.
Cameron Johnson and Cameron Payne scored nearly 20 points with six rebounds each in the Suns’ record-setting 18th straight franchise victory over Detroit on Thursday. However, several variables and team trends overwhelmingly point to the Warriors holding serve on their home floor tonight, winning straight up, and covering the current 6.5-point spread.
Friday on WagerTalk TV:
🏒 11am ET: Puck Time
☕ 12pm ET: WagerTalk Today
💰 1pm ET: Prop It Up
🏀 1:45pm ET: NCAAB Tip-Off
🏈 3:15pm ET: College Football Daily
🏀 4:15pm ET: NBA Tip-Off
📺 YouTube: https://t.co/R6HAcDOwWQ
📺 Twitch: https://t.co/FJVMFm1qti pic.twitter.com/o0yLdtpz7V— WagerTalk (@WagerTalk) December 3, 2021
Golden State Warriors vs Phoenix Suns Analysis from The GoldSheet
All good things must come to an end, and there’s a chance that the Suns’ 18-game winning streak could well end in this contest against Golden State, but number seems a tad generous even considering Phoenix is coming off a home game against Detroit last night and the issue with Devin Booker’s hamstring. These are the top two teams in the league at this juncture, and Phoenix took Tuesday night’s meeting in the Valley of the Sun against the Warriors, 104-96, as Warrior G Steph Curry made just 4 of 21 shots, while Andrew Wiggins was only 4 of 12.
Curry will be psyched up to bounce back, and Draymond Green and Kevin Looney didn’t like Deandre Ayton’s 11 of 19 shooting for 24 pts. and 11 rebs. one bit, plus the injury Booker, who left in the second quarter on Tuesday with a hamstring injury that will at the very least keep him out of this game.
Still, it’s a big swing in the point spread from Tuesday, so might take a chance that Mikal Bridges can defend effectively again, 6-8 Cameron Johnson can help fill in with some scoring punch and Chris Paul can help the Suns control the tempo.
Friday’s NBA Stat Sheet
Each day, WagerTalk handicapper Ralph Michaels puts together his NBA Stat Sheet, which offers a head-to-head comparison for how teams are performing in a number of key areas heading into a game. Click here to download Friday’s sheet, with notes on tonight’s Golden State Warriors vs Phoenix Suns contest.
NBA Tip-Off Show
Join Joe Raineri, Rob Veno, Tony Finn and Tony Mejia for the NBA Tip-Off Show at 4:15pm ET / 1:15pm PT as we discuss tonight’s marquee games. Stay up-to-date on the latest NBA news, stats, analysis, and predictions with our panel of professional handicappers as they preview tonight’s NBA action, including this Golden State Warriors vs Phoenix Suns clash, from a betting perspective.
WagerTalk Live Odds Screen
WagerTalk’s live odds screen features up-to-the-minute lines from a variety of offshore and domestic sports books. Track the NBA point spreads, moneylines, first half lines and betting percentages for all of Friday’s NBA games, including this Golden State Warriors vs Phoenix Suns showdown, from your desktop or phone.
**************************************************
Looking for more free sports picks and sports betting tips?
- Latest Betting Odds and Public Action: Vegas lines updated in real time, including who the public is betting on.
- Last Minute Handicapping Advice: Check out our extensive library of handicapping tips and advice from professional Vegas handicappers (we also recommend taking the time to look over our sports betting tips video library)
- Want an expert opinion? Check out the latest Free Sports Picks and Best Bets from our team of expert sports handicappers.
Make sure to bookmark all the above!
