[blogguy]

It was noted in the forums a few days back that Phoenix has really slowed things down and had some trouble covering when they were shorthanded during a tough schedule stretch.

An update (B/B means night two of a back-to-back):

12/6: versus Portland...Suns and Over
12/7: at Golden State...Suns and Over (B/B)
12/9: versus New York...Opponent and Under
12/10: at Clippers...Opponent and Under (B/B and 4/5)
12/12: versus New Orleans...Opponent and Under
12/14: at Dallas...Opponent and Under
12/16: at New Orleans...Suns and Under
12/17: at Memphis....Push and Under (B/B and 8/12)

That was three back to back spots in 12 days, and eight games total. Once the fatigue and shorthandedness seemed to kick in during the Knicks game...the Suns are 1-4-1 ATS and 0-6 to the Under heading into this week.

Phoenix has had a couple of days to rest since that killer stretch ended. So they might push tempo a bit more and be more consistently competitive.

Tuesday: Seattle at Phoenix
Friday: Washington at Phoenix

Monday 12/26: Phoenix at Minnesota
Wednesday: 12/28: Phoenix at Washington
Friday: 12/30: Phoenix at Charlotte
Saturday: 12/31: Phoenix at Chicago (B/B and 4/6)

With just two games this week, the Suns may push tempo a bit more (and they face a couple of teams who don't play much defense anyway). After Christmas the Suns may slow things down again if they don't have any of their healthy bodies back.

Wanted to post an udpate just in case there were readers who had been riding that Under trend after it was pointed out in the forums. This might be a week to show caution considering the rest and the particular opponents.

BG