SEASON FORECASTS AND FUTURES PICKS

Ricky Rubio is a fine defender and a great passer but not a person thought Utah's great defense or inconsistent offense would be any worse when it was clear they were moving on from Ricky Rubio. It is one thing to shoot 31% from three point range. That is bad, but when it comes on wide open looks that average guards would make 42% of the time it's even worse. The Suns did improve after dumping Josh Jackson. The Suns are not contenders to win the championship at 1000/1, 0.1%. They are one of 8 teams with these odds (#23 in the league). They do not win the championship in any simulations. They are not a good value to win the West either at 600/1, 0.2%. The Suns are averaging 25.5 wins per sim so we recommend betting them to come under 29.5 wins. At +1400 the Suns are not a good value to make the playoffs with a 0% chance. They have less than 1% chance to win the division. In simulations they finish last in the West based on projected wins.

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REGULAR SEASON RECAP AND UPCOMING GAMES

Their 19-63 record last season failed to meet expectations. Their game-by-game odds projected record was 22.4-59.6. They were not good against the spread going 36-46 (-1460 loss). More of their games came in under (44) than went over (38). Based on computer simulations they only have a 45% chance to beat the Kings in their next game. The table below shows their upcoming games, their simulation based win percentage and their recent head to head record (WL, ATS, OU).

TEAM STATISTICAL STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

SHOOTING (WEAKNESS): This is a below average shooting team with a true FG% of 55.1% (#21 in League). The team has improved to 58.3% in their last 7 games. They average 107.5 pts per game vs an expected average (based on pre-game odds) of 107.8. On the road they average 107.4 (106.8 expected), and at home 107.6 ppg (108.9 expected).

DEFENSE (WEAKNESS): They are not a good defensive team allowing opponents to shoot 58.3 true FG% (#29 in League). They allow 116.8 pts per game vs an expected value of 115.4. They are allowing 119.8 (116.5 expected) on the road, and at home 113.9 ppg (114.2 expected).

REBOUNDING (WEAKNESS): They are outrebounded by opponents by 6.8 per game (#30 in league).

TURNOVERS (AVERAGE): Their turnover margin is zero (#12 in league).

TEAM FANTASY LEADERS

The table below show the most valuable fantasy players on the team led by Devin Booker who is projected to be the #6 Guard. The Better Option column shows the player directly above him and the Better Than column shows the player directly below him in the projected position rankings.