Lakers Vs Suns: lakers vs suns Preview — Can LA fall into the play-in?
The lakers vs suns matchup on Thursday sends the Los Angeles Lakers (34-23) back on the road against the Phoenix Suns (33-26) in the final meeting of the season. With the Lakers sitting sixth and just three games above the play-in category, this game takes on outsized importance.
Lakers Vs Suns injury report
Who: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Phoenix Suns. The Suns' best players, namely Devin Booker and Dillon Brooks — who have given the Lakers some trouble and a lot of annoyance this season — are ruled out for this one. That absence should change the Suns' perimeter looks and give the Lakers different match-up opportunities.
Where both teams stand
The Lakers are 34-23 and back on the road for the next two games, starting Thursday. The Suns are 33-26. This is the final match between the two teams this season; the Lakers look to tie the season series. Now sitting in sixth place, Los Angeles is just three games above the play-in category, specifically where their next opponent, the Suns, are currently slotted. With 25 games left, the worst-case scenario for the Lakers is to fall into the play-in range after playing well enough for most of the season to be out of it.
How Phoenix will operate offensively
The Suns will most likely run their offense through Jalen Green, Collin Gillespie, Grayson Allen and Mark Williams. As long as the Lakers don't allow them to play extraordinarily well, then LA should be able to handle them. Without Booker and Brooks at the perimeter, the Lakers should be able to feast.
Key questions for the Lakers lineup
Can the Lakers snap their losing streak by beating the Suns on Thursday? After an embarrassing loss to the Celtics, Los Angeles followed with a worse result: a loss to an Orlando Magic team without arguably its best player in Franz Wagner and their top perimeter defender in Jalen Suggs. Yes, the same Magic team that, with all due respect, doesn’t even rank top five in the mediocre Eastern Conference. Given how competitive and tight the Western Conference standings are right now, especially in the middle of the pack, that was a horrible loss for the Lakers.
There’s really no excuse for the Lakers to lose. They’re not playing their best basketball right now, but they have to at least attempt to be better. The good news is that they play well on the road, so hopefully we see a better performance from them in the next two games. It would be ideal to see a bounce back game from top to bottom. Can we get another good game from Deandre Ayton against his former team? Can Austin Reaves be more impactful? And most importantly, can the team as a whole just show more pride and play with more determination to win games?
Daily roundup and upcoming dates
A daily roundup of Los Angeles Lakers news: The Lakers look to quickly get back on the winning column against the Magic on Tuesday. Pat Riley will be the first coach immortalized by Lakers on Sunday when they take on the Celtics. The Lakers look to begin the second half of the season on a strong note against the Clippers.
You can follow Nicole at @nicoleganglani.
Thursday’s game between the Lakers and Suns is more than one contest — it is a moment to either create distance from a division rival or close the gap toward the play-in. For Los Angeles, beating Phoenix without Devin Booker and Dillon Brooks is an opportunity they cannot afford to waste.
