The LA Lakers will face the Phoenix Suns on February 25 (Sunday) at Footprint Center. This will be the final meeting between the two teams this season. They have met four times before, with the Lakers winning the season series 3-1. However, neither team will take the upcoming clash lightly, as every win matters with playoff seeding at stake. The Lakers are currently in ninth place in the Western Conference with a 31-27 record. The Suns, on the other hand, are eighth in the standings with a 33-24 record and are looking at the real possibility of finishing outside the top six.
Preview
The Lakers are entering this matchup with a 1-1 start after the 2024 All-Star break. They lost to the Golden State Warriors 128-110 in their first game without LeBron James. They held on for the first half but fell far behind the rest of the time. The Lakers couldn’t do much during that game due to several absences. However, they bounced back for the second night in a row against the weak San Antonio Spurs. LeBron came back with a 30-point and nine-assist effort to lead the Lakers to a 123-118 victory.
D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura also overcame their poor performances against the Warriors with solid efforts. The Lakers found success with their fast-paced offense. They will require a similar effort on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the Phoenix Suns had a rough start after the All-Star break as they suffered consecutive losses against the Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets. Bradley Beal is out due to a hamstring injury and now only two of their three stars are left on the court.
The Suns need to start their halfcourt offense better to defeat the Lakers. LA has the personnel to cover two stars on defense, so the others need to be more involved. Defensively, Phoenix will need to keep the Lakers away from the paint and draw fewer fouls to prevent them from gaining a significant advantage late in the game.
Starting lineup
The expected starting lineup for the Lakers is likely to include Austin Reaves, D’Angelo Russell, LeBron James, Rui Hachimura and Anthony Davis.
The Phoenix Suns are expected to start with Devin Booker, Grayson Allen, Eric Gordon, Kevin Durant and Jusuf Nurkic.
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Prediction
The Suns are favorites to win the upcoming contest with a -175 money line to defeat the Lakers. The last time the teams met, Phoenix got the better of LA. The Lakers are without Jarred Vanderbilt in this game, who was key in making things difficult for Devin Booker and Kevin Durant. Phoenix also has home court advantage in this game.
