- 1 Phoenix Suns vs Charlotte Hornets: Bridges gets his first look at the team that traded him
- 2 Phoenix Suns: 3-2 at home and Booker carrying the load
- 3 Charlotte Hornets: six losses running and 1-3 away from home
- 4 Free NBA Prediction: Phoenix Suns vs Charlotte Hornets
- 5 About our free predictions
- 6 No commitment from us
- 7 Information changes
- 8 Your responsibility
- 9 Responsible gambling
- 10 Legal age
- 11 About visuals
Phoenix Suns vs Charlotte Hornets: Bridges gets his first look at the team that traded him 
Charlotte have lost six games in a row, and the last one finished 119-80 against Boston at Spectrum Center on November 6. Brandon Miller left that night in the second quarter with right groin soreness and didn’t come back.
Phoenix are heading the other way, if only a little. The Suns beat Orlando 117-104 on November 5 and Houston 102-99 two nights later, their first back-to-back wins of the season. The Houston result also ended an eight-game losing run against the Rockets.
The game tips at 9:00pm ET on Thursday 12 November at Mortgage Matchup Center. It’s the first meeting of the season, and it has a storyline built in: Miles Bridges, a Hornet until the summer, now starts at forward for Phoenix. The trade was agreed on June 28 and made official on July 13, with Grayson Allen, Royce O’Neale and a 2033 first-round pick heading to Charlotte.
The records are close on paper. Phoenix are 3-5, Charlotte 3-7. The difference is in how the points come. The Suns average 113.3 a night on 46.2% shooting. The Hornets score 98.1 per game, shoot 40.4% from the field and 29.6% from three.
The schedule matters here too. Phoenix host San Antonio on Monday and the Clippers on Tuesday, then get Wednesday off. Charlotte play Cleveland on Monday and then sit for two days before the trip west. Neither team arrives on the second night of a back-to-back.
Phoenix Suns: 3-2 at home and Booker carrying the load 
Devin Booker scored 30 points with eight assists against Orlando, then 24 against Houston. Through seven games he’s averaging 25.3 points, and the Suns have needed every one of them.
All three Phoenix wins have come at home. The Suns are 0-3 on the road, and the early-season low point came on opening night in Portland, a 124-83 defeat. A home date against a team on a six-game slide is the kind of spot they’ve handled so far.
Bridges has given them a second option and a rebounder. He’s at 16.9 points per game and had 13 points and 10 rebounds against Houston, two nights after pulling down 13 boards against Orlando. Dillon Brooks is scoring 16.8 a night and hitting 42.3% from three.
The frontcourt is thinner than the coaching staff would like. Mark Williams is still out after surgery on a torn left shoulder labrum in September, with no return date given. On the November 7 report, Jordan Goodwin was doubtful with a right calf problem and Rasheer Fleming questionable with a left ankle sprain.
The most recent starting five was Booker, Jalen Green, Brooks, Bridges and Khaman Maluach. Green put up 16 against Houston. I’d expect the same group on Thursday unless the Monday and Tuesday games change something.
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Charlotte Hornets: six losses running and 1-3 away from home 
The streak started on October 30 with a 95-79 loss in Washington. Since then Charlotte have lost to Philadelphia by five, Detroit by 33, Brooklyn by 10 and Boston by 39. The Hornets haven’t topped 104 points in any of the five.
Miller is the scorer, at 22.0 points per game, but he’s shooting 35.9% from the field. His groin is the first thing to check on Thursday. If he doesn’t travel, the offense falls to Naz Reid and Allen.
Reid, who arrived from Minnesota in the June trade that sent LaMelo Ball the other way, averages 16.9 points and 8.3 rebounds. He was also benched for the second half of the 124-91 loss to Detroit on November 2 for not meeting what the team called its standards. Allen is the one shooter in form: 15.7 points a game and 49.2% from deep.
The injury list goes beyond Miller. Kon Knueppel hurt his hamstring again in his season debut at Brooklyn on November 4, with no timetable. Coby White has played two games since a left calf strain, and Moussa Diabate, who averages 9.1 rebounds, sat out the Boston game.
The one thing Charlotte do well is crash the glass: 46.1 rebounds per game. Against a Phoenix side without Williams, that’s where the Hornets can keep it close. Last season they beat the Suns 127-107 in Charlotte on April 2, with Bridges scoring 25 for them that night.
Probable lineup Phoenix Suns: Devin Booker, Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, Miles Bridges, Khaman Maluach
Probable lineup Charlotte Hornets: Not announced at time of publication
Free NBA Prediction: Phoenix Suns vs Charlotte Hornets
Our prediction: Phoenix Suns to win by 6 points or more
Charlotte have scored 104 points or fewer in each of their last five games. Phoenix have scored at least 102 in every game since the opener, and they’ve won all three home games this season. A Hornets team shooting 29.6% from three is a poor fit for a game where Brooks and Booker can trade baskets.
The rebounding edge is real for Charlotte, and the Suns are short of size with Williams out. I’d still take the scoring gap over the board count, especially if Miller is limited or missing. The last three Hornets defeats came by 10, 33 and 39 points.
I’m not willing to lay a big number on a 3-5 team, so the pick stops at a margin of six or more. Phoenix have two days of games before this one, but Wednesday off is enough, and Charlotte’s travel is longer. Suns by more than two possessions.
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