The Los Angeles Lakers were perfect in the NBA’s In-Season Tournament group stage, with one of those victories coming against the Phoenix Suns. Now they will have to do it again in a star-studded matchup as LeBron James and Anthony Davis lead the way against Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and the Suns in the In-Season Tournament quarterfinals.
The winner of this game will head to Las Vegas to take on the New Orleans Pelicans in the semifinals.
The Lakers come into this contest off a good win against the Houston Rockets, a game which saw the regular season debut of defensive ace Jarred Vanderbilt. The forward was admittedly a bit rusty, but he will need to shake that off as he will undoubtedly see some time on both Durant and likely Booker as well, both of whom have been outstanding when on the court.
Rui Hachimura is also expected to return from a broken nose on Tuesday, so the Lakers coach Darvin Ham will have nearly his full complement of weapons at his disposal. With this basically serving as a playoff-like contest, how Ham handles his rotation will be something to watch for as he may need to cut down the number of players he chooses to play.
One thing that is for sure is that the Lakers defense is going to have to be as locked in as they have been all season long in order to make life tough on one the NBA’s premier duos. Booker has stepped up his playmaking significantly this season, operating as the Suns point guard and helping create open looks for the team’s role players.
The Suns don’t shoot a lot of 3-pointers, but when they do, they make them. Durant is shooting nearly 50% from deep while both Grayson Allen and Eric Gordon are above 40% as well, so the Lakers’ rotations must be on point.
If the Lakers defense is clicking, it allows for them to get out in transition which is huge against the Suns who are one of the slower teams in the league and prefer to operate in the halfcourt. Whichever team is able to impose their style in this contest will have a big advantage.
But of course all eyes will be on the stars. Davis has been dominant the last three games for the Lakers while LeBron will be looking to bounce back after a below average showing against Houston. Both will need to be at their best and lead the way as the Suns are trying to get their first victory over the purple and gold this season, but the Lakers want to make their mark and advance in the inaugural In-Season Tournament.
Los Angeles Lakers (12-9) vs. Phoenix Suns (12-8)
7:00 p.m. PT, December 5, 2023
Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, CA
TV: TNT, Spectrum SportsNet
Radio: 710 AM ESPN LA
Projected Lakers Starting Lineup:
PG: D’Angelo Russell
SG: Cam Reddish
SF: Taurean Prince
PF: LeBron James
C: Anthony Davis
Key Reserves: Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, Jarred Vanderbilt, Christian Wood, Max Christie
Projected Suns Starting Lineup:
PG: Devin Booker
SG: Grayson Allen
SF: Josh Okogie
PF: Kevin Durant
C: Jusuf Nurkic
Key Reserves: Eric Gordon, Keita Bates-Diop, Yuta Watanabe, Drew Eubanks, Jordan Goodwin
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