The stage is set for Kevin Durant’s return to Brooklyn as his Suns take on the Nets tonight on ABC. Phoenix is in midst of a long 7-game road trip and after a minor hiccup at Indiana and Orlando, they’re back to winning ways after a 118-105 victory over the struggling Miami Heat. Devin Booker cooled off a bit and had just 22 points in the win, but regardless of that the Suns will be happy to get back on winning ways. They’re in a solid position ahead of tonight’s game as well – against the Nets they’re 4-1 SU in the last 5 meetings, while against Eastern Conference teams they’ve won 7 of their last 9. I’m expecting big things from Kevin Durant here, in the first meeting of the season he finished with a very efficient 27 points. Grayson Allen is questionable to play though, after leaving the previous game with an ankle injury.
Brooklyn is finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel following back-to-back wins over the Rockets and Jazz. The return of Ben Simmons sparked the 33-point blowout win over Utah, the former All-Star posted 10 points, 8 rebounds and 11 assists off the bench as he made his return from a back injury which has kept him in and out of the line-up for the past couple of seasons. Whether or not he can maintain that production moving forward remains to be seen, but the Nets are in desperate need of a run in order to get back into playoff contention out East. They’re half a game out of the 10th seed, they have a really tough schedule up until the All-Star break so every win they get will be huge in the next 15 days or so. One thing worth pointing out before this contest is Brooklyn’s 4-11 ATS record in their last 15 games vs Western Conference opponents.
