New Orleans vs Phoenix: The defense will be stronger than the attack, whoever wins

Phoenix have a tough series with New Orleans. One of the main favorites of the season has lost two games to the Pelicans. Can the Suns avoid a third defeat? We have a few bets to choose from.

Steve Kerr's coaching school has begun to pay off outside of Golden State. In his first season at the helm of New Orleans, Willie Green, former assistant coach of the Warriors, took the team to the playoffs and fought quite decently in the first round with the first seed of the Western Conference. Yes, the Pelicans won two games out of five largely due to an injury to Devin Booker, the Suns' leading scorer. But is that the Pelicans' problem? 

Whatever the Suns' problems against the Pelicans, Monty Williams' team still leads 3-2 and can close out the contest as early as the upcoming sixth game. Plus, dragging out the confrontation might even help the Suns in the long run. Devin Booker will not play against New Orleans, but he could recover from injury by the next series. The later the series in the second round for Phoenix, the better for the team in that sense. 

Defense is almost always at the forefront in decisive basketball games and beyond. The upcoming game will be no exception. The defensive metrics of Pelicans' Willie Green and the Suns' Monty Williams and Chris Paul have proven themselves repeatedly. Whoever wins the sixth game of this series will surely do so in the tiebreaker.

• Total Under 214.5 for 1.83;
• Each team will score Total Under 112.5 for 1.90;
• Total 204 - 223 for 2.25.

TelecomAsia Sport is looking for tipsters for the Chinese Super League. Contact jobs@telecomasia.net for more information.