Devin Booker's absence is a reason to fade the Suns spread against the lowly Blazers

Devin Booker has entered health and safety protocols.

The Phoenix Suns will be without Devin Booker for Wednesday’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers, as the All-Star guard has entered COVID-19 health and safety protocols.

Even with Booker out and Chris Paul still sidelined by a thumb injury, the Suns are 11.5-point favorites over the Blazers on Tipico Sportsbook. The odds on their money line are -700.

The Suns are simply a more talented team than the Blazers, who are also dealing with significant injuries to a roster that had a lower floor to begin with. However, Phoenix was showing signs of decline before the news, so bettors should fade the spread at this large a number.

The Suns are on a two-game losing streak since winning their first game without Paul. One of the losses was by 15 points to the New Orleans Pelicans, who the Blazers are tied with in the standings at 25-36.

While Phoenix’s offensive rating had seen a slight boost in recent games, the defensive rating was down significantly without Paul. Now, without their best scorer, the offense is sure to take a hit, too. To what degree is what they’ll find out against the Blazers’ bottom-five defense.

That uncertainty makes the +470 odds on the Blazers moneyline tempting, but that also presents a risk in a road game for Portland. Only two Western Conference teams have fewer road wins than the Blazers who are also coming off consecutive losses of more than 30 points.

The better value play is the Blazers +11.5 at -120 odds.