Who takes the lead?
The Phoenix Suns and New Orleans Pelicans will face off in Game 5 of the 2022 NBA Playoffs. The home side already had a 2-0 lead in the series, but have suffered two recent losses at NOLA.
Phoenix Suns – statistics & current form
The basket hunters from the Valley still have to do without Devin Booker. This means that the best scorer of the vice-champions is missing and Chris Paul, who made up for his absence in the third game with a strong performance, had an off-day.
The “Point God” delivered a high number of assists as usual and no player has averaged more successful assists for his teammates in the playoffs, but the shots didn’t sit. This was reflected in only four points at the final siren in New Orleans.
In addition, he committed three turnovers, while he did not lose a single ball in the two previous games.
However, DeAndre Ayton continues to act reliably at the five. In the postseason, the “big man” has increased his already strong stats in the areas of scoring, assists and rebounds compared to the regular season.
New Orleans Pelicans – Statistics & current form
The Pels have gained a lot of self-confidence with their two recent victories. Especially small forward Brandon Ingram presents himself very stable with very good scoring values.
In addition, the guests have Jonas Valanciunas, the best rebounder of the postseason so far, on board. The centre is averaging no less than 16 boards per playoff game!
Furthermore, the Pelicans have been more physical in the last two games and seem to have found a key against the previously overmatched Suns with a higher physical component in their game.
Phoenix Suns – New Orleans Pelicans Tip
Before the series, most experts thought that this duel might even be a sweep in favour of the best team from the Valley in the regular season. But now the matter is much more exciting – both teams have two wins so far.
The home side, however, is also considerably weakened on the offensive side, as Devin Booker has not been able to play for two games due to injury.
For the clash between the Phoenix Suns and New Orleans Pelicans in Game 5 of the series, the tip is for Brandon Ingram to score more than 26.5 points for the visitors. The 24-year-old has been very solid of late after a mediocre start to the series.
So he exceeded the selected minimum of 27 points in the last three games with always at least 30 points.
His strong 2022 postseason can also be seen in the fact that Ingram has increased his average scoring value by more than seven points compared to the regular season to now 29.8.
