Game Preview: Suns Visit Lakers
The Phoenix Suns are making one more trip on the road prior to the home opener on Saturday night, facing off against LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Lakers endured a fairly thorough beatdown at the hands of the defending champion Denver Nuggets on Tuesday night. The Lakers did battle back to cut the deficit to single digits on multiple occasions, but never truly felt like a threat to win the game.
The Suns' inter-division rivals struggled in non-James minutes, as the depth pieces added in the offseason such as Gabe Vincent and Cam Reddish failed to make much impact in any phase of the game.
Co-star Anthony Davis also struggled mightily in the second half.
Despite the Lakers' struggles in game one, they can't be underestimated by Suns fans going into this matchup.
Between two of the Suns three stars availability for the game being murky, to Anthony Davis having a favorable matchup against the Suns back line of defense, the Suns will likely need to work hard to get to 2-0.
How Does Frank Vogel Maneuver Potential Devin Booker, Brdley Beal Absences?
Devin Booker and Bradley Beal were officially listed as DOUBTFUL for tonight's tilt, per the team.
This development might force coach Frank Vogel to lean deeper into the rotation, playing DNP's from Tuesday night, particularly Chimezie Metu and Keita Bates-Diop. Saben Lee also could possibly see some time, although that proposition is more in the air.
The Suns will presumably start both Eric Gordon and Grayson Allen in the place of Book and Beal if neither star can play.
Both players will need to step up tonight coming off of rough debuts. Allen failed to score a point, going 0-for-6 from the floor, and Gordon struggled to the tune of 4-for-16 shooting.
In defense of Allen/Gordon, they played inspired defense for the majority of the game, and took good shots that will usually fall. Gordon also hit a massive 29-foot three ball that shifted the momentum back in the Suns' favor in the fourth.
Much will be asked of the vets tonight - here's to hoping both deliver.
Will Kevin Durant Bounce Back?
Durant finished opening night with a line of 18 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, and one block in 37 minutes of action.
The superstar struggled gaining a rhythm on the offensive side of the ball, shooting 7-22 from the floor.
Durant did once again have a strong defensive performance that fits in the grand scheme of the Suns victory over Golden State on Tuesday night, but is the rough offensive showing a cause for concern?
KD is still one of the premier scorers in the basketball world, as a 7-footer that can make a shot from anywhere on the floor. He's also very unselfish in general as far as a superstar is concerned.
The concerning development of the legend's game is he appears to be much less shifty when it comes to trying to get to the hoop. It's not a huge deal, but certainly something to watch as the season progresses.
Suns fans should fully expect KD to bounce back, taking this matchup against LeBron and Davis personally.
Suns Defense vs Anthony Davis
As obviously seen above, the resounding theme of the game against Golden State Tuesday night was the team's strong defensive showing, save for the lapsed performance in the third quarter.
The Lakers offense as a whole is likely weaker than the Warriors, but Anthony Davis is a much more pressing challenge than Kevon Looney and former Suns big man Dario Saric, with all due respect to them.
Davis is a powerhouse on defense, coming into this season as one of the favorites to win Defensive Player of the Year. But his offense is what needs to be the focus of Vogel and his staff tonight.
The Lakers' star is coming off of a season in which he averaged 25.9 points a night, his highest total since the 2019-20 bubble champion Lakers team. He's nowhere near the jump shooter he was a few years ago, but is still an imposing figure on the block and is very hard to stand tall on in the post without fouling.
While Nurkic and Eubanks both played impressive defense for the most part on opening night, the former accumulated five fouls, while the later totaled three. It's going to be a completely new challenge to try to contain the Lakers star without getting in foul trouble.
One advantage the Suns may have is Vogel's detailed knowledge of Davis' tendencies, having been his coach arguably at the peak of his powers in 2020.
