Lakers vs. Suns: Start time, TV schedule and game preview

After a tough loss to the 76ers, well most Joel Emidd and Ben Simmons, the Lakers looked to rebound against the Phoenix Suns. This will be the third time the Lakers will be playing the Suns in this young season.

The previous two meetings resulted in Laker wins, but each game provided two very different victories. In the first game, both teams got into a shootout with both sides having quarters scoring over 35 points and having multiple players score over 20 points on both teams.

This was also the game where Lonzo Ball had one of his best games of the season, putting up 29 points, grabbing 11 rebounds and dishing out nine assists. The second matchup was more of a defensive struggle, or maybe an offensive struggle depending on how you look at it.

Still, Devin Booker went utterly nuclear on the Lakers exploding for 36 points and even picked a fight with the Lakers bench. Now, the Suns come to Staples Center for the first time this season and avoid losing to their division rivals for the second time this week.

The Suns have been on a bit of an upswing since the firing of their Head Coach Earl Watson, but this doesn’t change the fact this is a team the Lakers should feast upon. The Suns rank 27th in defensive efficiency and just traded away one of their best defenders in Eric Bledsoe.

The Lakers have proven they are the more talented team in both matchups this season, but still have to show up if they expect to win the game.

Keys to Victory

Defense

The Suns are a young team that relies on young star Devin Booker to create offensive opportunities for them. For the Suns to take home the victory, they will need a big night from Booker and for their role players to have a good night.

The Lakers will need to stop this from happening by showing their top 5 NBA defense (still cant believe this)

Move the ball

The Lakers rank 20th in the league in assists only averaging 21.3.

Luke Walton has talked about the importance of the Lakers’ averaging 300 passes per game. The Lakers only average 269.3 (if you average the passing numbers of players that have played at least eight games this year).

The most significant problem for the Lakers this season has been their offense and this issue can be solved if they make an effort to move the ball more.

Get Easy Buckets:

Once again, the Lakers need to find ways get more comfortable looks at the basket.

Too often do they find themselves in a situation where they are scrambling to find a shot at the end of the shot clock, or they end up hoisting up early in the shot clock threes.

This team is at their best when they are forcing turnovers and getting out in transition.

Time: 7:30 p.m P.T.

TV: Spectrum SportsNet