Big Game Report #2 By Chase Bailkin

Tonight’s matchup could be foreshadowing of what’s to come sometime in the post season. Steph Curry is showing everyone why he was the first unanimous MVP in NBA history, as he continues to scorch defenses with his shooting, passing, and ability to get to the rim. He faces an old foe tonight in Chris Paul, who has found himself a nice fit in Phoenix. Paul has a a plethora of knockdown shooters around him like Cameron Johnson, Mikaal Bridges, and Jae Crowder. He also has some guy named Devin Booker who can get a bucket anytime he feels like against pretty much anyone. Their defense is solid centered around rising star center Deandre Ayton, and they have a deep bench. But still, they sit at 9th in the Western Conference with a record of only 8-8. Despite having all the pieces, the Suns have found ways to lose this season, including their last 3 in a row. The Warriors however are exceeding expectations. Without Klay Thompson, Steph Curry has taken the team over, and is playing so well that it has forced his teammates to level up with him. Kelly Oubre, Kent Bazemore, Brad Wanamaker, and Eric Paschall surround Curry as spot up shooters he can go to when he is being double teamed or too tired from carrying the team to score. These are all role players that are fulfilling their duties very well with this Warriors team, not to mention Andrew Wiggins is a force defensively (and offensively when he feels like it), as well as Draymond Green who is a top 5 defender, and he has made it his personal duty to coach up 3rd overall draft pick James Wiseman, who has been a beast offensively but a target on defense. If Draymond can get through to him, the Warriors will be a scary opponent for anyone this post season.

This game is a pickem. The Suns are slight 1 point favorites because they get to play at home. This game is very evenly matched, but my money is on the Suns. They are a tough and resilient team - we saw that last year in the bubble when they won all 9 of their games but still missed the playoffs. I fully expect them to bounce back from this 3 game losing streak tonight and hand the Warriors an L, despite the dubs great play as of late. The focus for the Suns will be to get the ball out of Curry’s hands and make other people score, but that is easier said than done. Both teams will play hard as these guys know they may face each other again in the post season. Expect the role players to knock down their shots, and each of the teams’ stars to get theirs as well. Taking the Suns -1 and the over 219.5 tonight.