The Los Angeles Lakers are looking to forget about Opening Night and pick up their first win of the season in their home opener at Crypto.com Arena. Standing in their way is another potential championship contender in the Phoenix Suns, who look to be short-handed for this contest.
Bradley Beal, who also missed the Suns’ season-opener, is once again out for Phoenix with a back injury, and the team is also without superstar Devin Booker, who is dealing with left foot soreness. But the Lakers still can’t afford to take things easy as the Suns still have one of the most lethal scorers in NBA history in Kevin Durant, so LeBron James and Anthony Davis will need to be on their A-game.
Even though James and Durant shared the court in a preseason games a few weeks ago, this marks the first time they are doing so in a game that counts since Christmas 2018.
Regardless though, all eyes should be on Davis, who started strong in Denver but was then held scoreless in the second half and has taken a ton of criticism. The Lakers need the Davis who showed up in the preseason, dominant on both ends of the court. Dealing with Nikola Jokic is always a tough assignment, but that isn’t a factor in this contest so Davis needs to be the best player on the floor.
That is especially important as Darvin Ham continues to try and limit the minutes of James. He played in just 29 minutes Opening Night, but the Lakers were a minus-17 with him off the court. It is imperative that the Lakers stay afloat with LeBron on the bench and that starts with Davis.
The play of Austin Reaves and D’Angelo Russell should also go a long way towards that as well. The pair shot a combined 8-of-23 and while they both found other ways to contribute, the starting backcourt has to be better offensively for the Lakers to be successful.
One definite bright spot was Taurean Prince, who was outstanding in his Lakers debut with 18 points while knocking down four 3-pointers. But the Lakers need more from their other role players, especially off the bench. Christian Wood and Cam Reddish were solid, but Rui Hachimura and Gabe Vincent were extremely disappointing. The depth of this team is its strength and that needs to hold true moving forward.
Obviously the focus for the Lakers defensively will be on limiting Durant, who didn’t have his best showing in the Suns’ Opening Night victory. Prince will likely get the primary minutes, but it will take a team effort to keep him in check. And as Ham and LeBron noted after the first game, transition defense and defensive rebounding are imperative for the Lakers.
They must also be careful to not let the Suns shooters get hot. The team has often been killed by the ‘other guys’ in prior seasons and players like Eric Gordon, Yuta Watanabe and Grayson Allen are all capable of getting hot.
The Lakers are the deeper, more talented team with the Suns down two of their All-Stars. As long as Davis and LeBron set the tone and they get some strong performances from a couple role players, the Lakers should be able to pick up their first win of the year.
Los Angeles Lakers (0-1) vs. Phoenix Suns (1-0)
7:00 p.m. PT, October 26, 2023
Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, CA
TV: TNT
Radio: 710 AM ESPN LA
Projected Lakers Starting Lineup:
PG: D’Angelo Russell
SG: Austin Reaves
SF: Taurean Prince
PF: LeBron James
C: Anthony Davis
Key Reserves: Gabe Vincent, Rui Hachimura, Jaxson Hayes, Christian Wood, Cam Reddish
Projected Suns Starting Lineup:
PG: Eric Gordon
SG: Grayson Allen
SF: Josh Okogie
PF: Kevin Durant
C: Jusuf Nurkic
Key Reserves: Yuta Watanabe, Drew Eubanks, Jordan Goodwin, Nasir Little
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