Warriors vs. Suns Thursday NBA injury report, odds, pick: Spread takes huge jump as Stephen Curry, Draymond Green ruled out

It's always dangerous to bet on the NBA in a team's final game before the All-Star break because clubs like to give their stars that game off if possible for a bit more rest ahead of the break. The Golden State Warriors are doing just that Thursday as they for sure will be without Steph Curry and Draymond Green essentially for rest and probably without Kelly Oubre for a second straight game due to injury. At one point, Phoenix was a 5-point favorite late Wednesday on the William Hill Sportsbook NBA odds for this game but it should be at double digits by the time you read this.

The Warriors played without Oubre on Wednesday in Portland and lost their second in a row, 108-106. Curry had 35 points and his three-pointer gave Golden State a 101-96 lead with 3:57 remaining, but then Damian Lillard got going for the Blazers. Green had five points, nine rebounds and 12 assists in 36 minutes. While the Warriors are officially calling Curry out Thursday for rest, they are saying it's an ankle for Green.

Oubre, averaging 15.5 points and 5.9 rebounds per game, was injured in practice Tuesday and sat Wednesday – no point in rushing him back here. Kent Bazemore made his first start of the season in Oubre's place and had 12 points and six rebounds Wednesday. Oubre played 96 games with the Suns from 2018-2020, averaging 17.9 points.

Phoenix has reason to care because it is chasing Utah for the best record in the Western Conference – the Suns are in second, three games back, and have won three in a row. Thus, all the key Phoenix players are expected to play here. Both Chris Paul and Devin Booker also will play in Sunday's All-Star Game in Atlanta.

The Suns are 1-0 vs. the Warriors this season, winning 114-93 in the desert on Jan. 28. Leading 91-81 with under eight minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Suns broke the game open with a 17-2 run. Booker missed that game. Curry had 27 points, but Green and Oubre combined for just six. The Dubs have covered the spread in six of their past eight at Phoenix even with that ATS loss.

We backed the Warriors late Wednesday on the moneyline with the presumption the Dubs would do this and grabbed them the Suns again at -6.5 early Thursday before the spread jumped. 

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