Highlights
- Lakers aim for road win against the Suns, seeking to continue momentum in a tight playoff race.
- Despite injuries, LA shows improvement while needing more help off the bench for increased success.
- A matchup between Durant and Booker highlights the importance for the Lakers to control the glass and limit outside shooting.
The second half of the Sunday double-header, the Los Angeles Lakers look to come away with a vital road victory against the Phoenix Suns. In their most recent meeting on January 11th, Phoenix got revenge on LA for knocking them out of the inaugural In-Season Tournament with an 18-point win.
Their leading scorer in that game, Bradley Beal, will miss yet another game with his hamstring injury. When he’s on the floor, Phoenix is fully prepped to reach its potential as a unit — their inability to maintain a healthy roster places a limit on what they can ultimately do this season.
The Lakers, once plagued with a similar problem, appear to be turning the corner. Though all-stars LeBron James (ankle) and Anthony Davis (hip, Achilles) are a bit banged up at the moment, defensive ace Cam Reddish could make his first appearance since Jan. 23 after dealing with an ankle issue.
His return highlights LA’s need for more help off the bench and another stopper in the lineup to face the likes of Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. Quietly, the Lakers have crept back into the postseason picture — they sit just 2.5 games back of Phoenix for #8 and three games behind the sixth-seeded Dallas Mavericks.
There’s still a lot of work to be done from a cohesion standpoint, but it’s a positive sign that Coach Darvin Ham’s group is trending in the right direction at this time of year. The Lakers head into their matinée as underdogs, despite having won three of their four previous meetings this season.
Durant and Booker will get the majority of action on the Phoenix side — it’s key for LA to control the glass and limit Eric Gordon and Grayson Allen from burning them on the outside.
For the Lakers, the starting lineup of James, Davis, D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, and Rui Hachimura remains undefeated at 6-0. However, the team as a whole has mightily struggled on the road, with a record of 11-18 away from Crypto.com Arena — something has to give.
Playing Phoenix in a national spot is a nice measuring stick for the future. Whichever team comes out on top could have the edge in the standings down the line.
Injury report and how to watch
Beal is out for the Suns, LeBron is questionable
Lakers
• LeBron James (QUESTIONABLE – Left ankle)
• Anthony Davis (QUESTIONABLE – Hip, achilles
• Cam Reddish (QUESTIONABLE – Right ankle)
• Christian Wood (OUT – Left knee swelling)
• Jarred Vanderbilt (OUT – Right mid-foot sprain)
• Gabe Vincent (OUT – Left knee surgery)
Suns
• Eric Gordon (QUESTIONABLE – Right groin soreness)
• Bradley Beal (OUT – Left hamstring tightness)
• Damion Lee (OUT – Right knee surgery)
How to watch
• 3:30 PM EST, ABC
Betting Lines
Lakers are slight underdogs
Point Spread: Suns -4 (-110)/Lakers +4 (-110)
Moneyline: Suns -168/Lakers +142
Over/Under: 238.5
Our best picks
Booker is poised for a huge scoring night
Point Spread: Lakers +4 (-110)
Both teams are a bit undermanned, though the Lakers are riding a bit more momentum. Even without Beal, it’s fair for LA to be labeled as underdogs. That said, it won’t be a surprise (in the slightest) if they end up getting the job done.
Their role players are settling in, while Phoenix is still searching for some continuity overall. Either way, it’s very likely the game will go down the wire, which is more than enough reason to believe the Lakers will end up covering.
Player Points: Devin Booker OVER 29.5 points (-122)
Booker went below this threshold during his most recent effort against the Houston Rockets, but it wasn’t for a lack of trying: he shot the ball 24 times and converted 11 of 11 shots from the charity stripe. No Beal means more command of the ball for Booker, who has learned to pick his spots well as a play initiator this season.
With a more relaxed Lakers defense, Booker will have a heavy dosage of scoring opportunities.
Parlay: Jusuf Nurkic OVER 9.5 rebounds, Austin Reaves OVER 14.5 points, Austin Reaves OVER 1.5 made threes (+346)
When healthy, Nurkic normally gobbles up a ton of rebounds over the course of a full game – he uses his size and excellent timing to stand out among his counterparts. Besides him, Phoenix does not feature an elite rebounder in the rotation.
The Lakers have nice positional size, but Nurkic should benefit from Davis possibly having to overextend on both ends.
Though Reaves is fighting through a slight leg injury, he’s due for a breakout performance. With all the attention placed on James and Davis, Reaves will have lots of chances to score off spot ups and secondary breakdowns. If it’s a high-scoring affair, expect him to easily hit his marks.
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