The Phoenix Suns (2-1) take on the Los Angeles Lakers (3-0) at home tonight, looking to build off their 114-102 win over the Dallas Mavericks Saturday and avenge their 123-116 loss to the Lakers on Friday.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Los Angeles has been on fire to start the year with its first 3-0 start since 2010-11 under new coach JJ Redick after defeating the Sacramento Kings 131-127 on Saturday.
What are they keys to victory for Phoenix to snap L.A.’s win streak tonight?
1. Slow down Anthony Davis
In the teams’ first meeting this season, Anthony Davis ended with a game-high 35 points on 11-of-18 shooting to go along with eight rebounds, four assists and two blocks for Los Angeles. He is currently tied for the league lead in points per game with 34 in the first three games.
Stopping Davis is way easier said than done, but the Suns will need a much better outing this time around from Jusuf Nurkić, who had four points on 1-of-5 shooting, seven rebounds, four assists and four turnovers in the first meeting. Nurkić’s performance led to Phoenix going small without him in the fourth quarter, when Davis ultimately dominated with 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting in the final period.
2. Limit turnovers
The Suns accomplished this key to the game against Dallas, decreasing their total team turnovers to only 11 after 17 turnovers against the Lakers leading to 26 Los Angeles points and 22 turnovers in its season-opening win over the Los Angeles Clippers last Wednesday.
Turnovers played a big part in why the Suns blew a 22-point lead against the Lakers on Friday, as they had eight in the second quarter alone fueling the momentum for L.A.’s comeback.
3. Sustain momentum
This is another area the Suns improved on against Dallas, but failed to do big time against the Lakers and caused them to blow their big lead. Turnovers played a huge part in it, but the Suns also can’t get stagnant on offense and have to continue to play with pace, have good ball movement and get good looks from 3-point range.
Defensively, this means not allowing L.A. to play in transition or to get offensive rebounds and having good closeouts to not allow a flurry of consecutive shots to go in.
4. Free throws
The Lakers had 39 free throws attempted in the first meeting, while Phoenix only had 17. This was another point of emphasis the Suns executed well against Dallas, as they attempted 37 free throws compared to 18 for the Mavericks.
Los Angeles will more likely than not win in this area just because its players drive downhill more, but the Suns can’t allow for the margin to be this big again.
5. Get Devin Booker going
We’ll see how the game plays out for this key, but Booker has not had the start to the season Suns fans have hoped for, averaging 19.7 points on 42.9% shooting through the first three games. Booker will inevitably have a good game soon, but could it come tonight to help Phoenix avenge Friday’s loss?
Local Game Information
Start Time: 7:00 p.m. MST
Location: Footprint Center
TV Channel: AZ Family/3TV
Radio: Arizona Sports 98.7 FM, La Mejor 106.5 FM
Stream: Suns Live (click for more info)
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) October 28, 2024
Betting Odds
Line: PHX -4
O/U:Â 228.5
Injury Report
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Brendan Mau is a senior writer covering the Phoenix Suns and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @Brendan_Mau
