Suns vs. Pelicans: Game 3 prediction, pick, TV channel, NBA playoffs live stream, how to watch online

The Phoenix Suns won 28 more games than the New Orleans Pelicans in the regular season. They held New Orleans to just 34 first-half points in Game 1 of their first-round series, and even if the Pelicans made it close, Phoenix ran away with the game in the fourth quarter, thanks to a dominant Chris Paul stretch that we should all really be used to. The championship favorites, at that point, looked well on their way to the second round.

Everything changed in Game 2 when Devin Booker, who had just scored 31 points in the first half, suffered a hamstring injury that will keep him out, in all likelihood, for the rest of the series. Now Paul is suddenly forced to take on a greater ball-handling load, and the rest of the team will have to pick up Booker’s scoring burden. They’ll try to do just that in Game 3 Friday. Here’s everything you need to know to tune in. 

(1) Phoenix Suns vs. (8) New Orleans Pelicans

• When: Friday, April 22 | 9:30 p.m. ET
• Where: Smoothie King Center — New Orleans, Louisiana
• TV: ESPN | Live stream: FuboTV
• Odds: NO +115; PHO -135; O/U 216 (via Caesars Sportsbook)

Featured Game | New Orleans Pelicans vs. Phoenix Suns

Storylines

Suns: Phoenix survived without Booker for parts of the regular season, but the playoffs are a different animal. The Pelicans have time to key in on Phoenix’s complex pick-and-roll actions now. They can take away a lot of what the Suns have spent the year perfecting without Booker’s individual shot-making to bail them out. Chris Paul can scale up comfortably to compensate, but who else is going to do so? Can Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson graduate from 3-and-D status into full-fledged wing scorers? Phoenix will need them to if it’s going to survive this Booker absence.

Pelicans: Remember, the Pelicans started this season 1-12. Their best player hasn’t played all season. Their general manager’s job was at risk. All of this should be gravy. If we’ve learned anything about the Pelicans over the past few months, it’s that they won’t treat it this way. The play-in wasn’t gravy. The first round hasn’t been gravy. Now, there’s a real opening for the Pelicans to actually win a round. Let’s see if they grab it.

Prediction

The Suns won 64 games this season. No team wins 64 games exclusively because of a single player. Booker is wonderful. He isn’t the whole team, and the Suns have spent the past several days cooking up ways of proving that. The pick: Suns -2