New York Knicks vs Phoenix Suns 3/4/22: Starting Lineups, Matchup Preview, Betting Odds, Predictions

New York Knicks vs. Phoenix Suns Matchup Preview (3/4/22)

The Phoenix Suns will be without All-Stars Devin Booker and Chris Paul on Friday when they host the abysmal New York Knicks. Chris Paul was recently ruled out for 6-8 weeks due to a finger injury but should be back in time for the playoffs. Perhaps, the rest could even be good for Paul before the post-season, considering he is rounding third base to 37 years of age. That is not old in real life, but it certainly is in the NBA. Additionally, Devin Booker will be forced to miss at least five days due to being placed in the COVID health and safety protocols; however, it is not expected he will miss much more time than that. Still, Phoenix was able to post a massive first half against the Portland Trail Blazers and looked terrific for most of the game, despite being without those two.

Meanwhile, it does not matter who plays for the New York Knicks; they will be awful no matter what. The Knicks have dropped six straight games, the last three of which were by double-digits. Even with R.J. Barrett playing his best basketball ever, New York cannot seem to buy a win if the organization’s life depended on it. Check out my game analysis below under the betting odds section, and see who I believe will win and cover the spread!

New York Knicks vs. Phoenix Suns Betting Odds

I refuse to bet on the New York Knicks for the remainder of the season, and this game is no different, despite the fact that Phoenix will be without Devin Booker and Chris Paul. Cam Payne, Landry Shamet, and Aaron Holiday still present better guard play than the Knicks’ guards outside Barrett. Barrett will probably be defended by one of the league’s best defenders, Mikal Bridges. Even if Barrett gets to 30+ points, it will take more shots than usual to do so. I will take the Suns against the spread up to six points.

How To Watch

Date: 3/4/22
Time: 10:00 PM ET
Arena: Footprint Center – Phoenix, AZ
Channel: ESPN

Live Stream New York Knicks vs. Phoenix Suns Free Online: Watch Every NBA Game

You can stream this game online for free. You can get a free 7-day trial and live stream NBA games from any device. Click the banner below and start watching.

New York Knicks Starting Lineup

PG: Kemba Walker
SG: Evan Fournier
SF: R.J. Barrett
PF: Julius Randle
C: Mitchell Robinson

New York Knicks Analysis

We have spent a lot of time covering the New York Knicks this season, and there is not much more to say than what has already been said. The Knicks were fourth in the Eastern Conference last season, and although they got bounced in the first round in five games, their season was still somewhat of a success. Now, they are not even sniffing a play-in game, despite adding several players like Evan Fournier and Kemba Walker. This team is quitting right now, and it shows; they just benched Kemba Walker for the rest of the season, even though he is technically healthy. R.J. Barrett has played great basketball, and Julius Randle has stepped it up, too, over his past ten games; however, this team does not have nearly the same defensive intensity as last season. At this point, I think they are pretty much hanging it up for the 2021-22 NBA season.

Phoenix Suns Starting Lineup

PG: Cam Payne
SG: Landry Shamet
SF: Mikal Bridges
PF: Jae Crowder
C: Deandre Ayton

Phoenix Suns Analysis

Phoenix will be without Devin Booker (COVID) and Chris Paul (finger), its two best players, for this matchup against the New York Knicks. This does not guarantee that the Suns will lose, mainly because of how bad the Knicks have been; however, it does complicate things. Still, the Suns were able to post 63 first-half points on the Portland Trail Blazers in their last game, so the offense has not dipped as much as it could have without Booker and Paul. This game will come down to whether Phoenix can play solid defense and force R.J. Barrett to pass the ball more or at least take more shots to get his points. The inevitable matchup of Mikal Bridges on R.J. Barrett should play right into this narrative, so Phoenix should win; it just depends on how much.

New York Knicks vs. Phoenix Suns Daily Fantasy Picks

I have a hard time recommending any player on the New York Knicks besides R.J. Barrett, who has been playing All-Star caliber basketball over the past month and a half to two months. Barrett has finally seemed to take the reins in New York as the offense runs through him now more than Julius Randle. Additionally, it appears that Tom Thibodeau and the Knicks’ organization have allowed Barrett to expand his game offensively and give him some much-needed freedom on that end. Barrett has posted averages of 35 points, seven rebounds, and four assists in his past two games on 50% from the floor and 43% from deep. Sure, this is a small sample size, but even if you “zoom-out” a bit, his numbers are still dazzling. Over a 17-game span, Barrett is still good for roughly 25 points and six boards. One area of improvement for him in the future will be his free-throw shooting, but that is not something to worry about, especially for DFS purposes. You should consider Barrett when crafting your lineup solely because I am unsure who else will score for New York against this Suns team.

With Chris Paul out of the lineup, Cameron Payne stands with the most to gain as he will now be the starting point guard for the Phoenix Suns in the coming weeks. Payne is by no means anywhere close to Chris Paul, but he can still be incredibly effective within the Suns’ offense. Payne has averaged 10.5 points, 3.6 assists, and 2.8 rebounds in roughly 20 minutes per game this season. An important stat to look at when considering a player like Payne stepping into a starting role, especially one that he has not had with the Suns, is his PER 36. Those numbers would look like 18.5 points, 6.4 assists, and 4.9 rebounds per game, which is quite enticing for a low-salary player like Payne. A double-digit assist night is undoubtedly a possibility against the New York Knicks, who looked dazed and confused for the majority of their games. I would highly consider plugging Payne into your lineup and not thinking twice about it.