Suns vs. Mavericks odds, picks: NBA best bets, predictions Friday

The Suns look to extend their winning streak to seven games when they visit the Mavericks on Friday night.Phoenix is a three-point underdog despite sitting atop the Western Conference with a 7-1 mark. While a +3.4 Net Rating might suggest the Suns have been somewhat fortunate to amass such an impressive record, their success is primarily linked to improved performances in the fourth quarter.Thus, if we dive deep into the numbers and compare them to last season, perhaps we’ll consider the Suns more deserving of this fast start. (7:30 p.m.ET, ESPN)Phoenix formed its version of the Big Three when it landed Bradley Beal in the summer of 2023 to team up with Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. While the Suns roster certainly looked promising on paper, injuries forced Beal to miss 35% or 29 of Phoenix’s games.

Yet, the Suns still managed to win 49 games and finish sixth in the conference. However, the team had some glaring concerns, as it was a bit top-heavy and lacked depth on the bench. It was almost like the front office was simply trying to collect superstars while giving little thought to actually building out the roster.Nonetheless, there’s no denying that the Suns had some legitimate star power to overcome Beal’s prolonged absences and still win as many games as they did.During his exit interviews, Beal reflected on how his injuries impacted the team as a whole.“In retrospect, we won 49 games,” Beal said.“That’s a lot of games.

And I missed what, 30 games, almost? Roughly? Roughly 30 games.Like, that’s a lot of games.

We’re a 50-win team.”  “Not saying we’d have won every game if I’d have played, but we would be in a totally different position if I’m healthy through the whole year, if everybody’s healthy the whole year.”This season already feels different compared to last year, when Beal missed the first two weeks.Therefore, perhaps we should take him at his word that this is an entirely different Suns team if they can stay h...