| 23 January 2012
Coming into Dallas with two straight East Coast wins under their belts, the Phoenix Suns are taking on a Dallas Mavericks team that is missing their top player - Dirk Nowitzki. Last season Dallas struggled through the loss of his pivotal presence and only won two out of nine games played during his absence. So Suns fandom is sure to be licking its collective chops in hope of grabbing a Western Conference win and keeping our 2-game streak alive.
Like made in the shade - right?
Well the Vegas/Reno oddsmakers are hoping to exploit that enthusiasm by offering a line that touts the Suns as 5-point underdogs - quite spectacular considering that the Suns have a history of going up in flames against the Mavs. But let's put it on the table - we're interested in taking the points because - along with the hobbled Nowitzki sitting on the bench - Dallas will also be missing their Number 2 scorer (Vince Carter) from the roster as well.
Without either of those two shot makers running the floor, the Mavs will be more dependent than ever on Lamar Odom to dominate their offense and generate points that have been very hard to come by since he left the LA Lakers and joined Dallas this season. Since opening day Odom has averaged just 7.1 points per game while playing 20.6 minutes per contest and there is a real question about whether he can be effective as a starter tonight.
In addition to those Dallas woes - there should be no doubt that Phoenix amazed even ardent fans with their back-to-back victories against the Knicks and Celtics. The combination of Steve Nash and Marcin Gortat have shown no mercy on opponents and put on eye popping performances. Grant Hill has remained a solid and steady contributor while former Laker Shannon Brown has shown himself to be an unexpected offensive weapon.
As a unit - the Suns are starting to jell and a low scoring Mavs squad may be ripe for the picking tonight.
While this is not a bet that we bleieve is a "lock" - we do have confidence in Phoenix plus the points. That's particularly true now that the opening line of Suns +4 has become a more favorable Suns +5.
See ya'
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