It’s all-or-nothing for the Lakers’ play-in quest when they take on the Suns in Phoenix. Will they keep
Catch this game live on April 6, at 10:30 AM, Manila time.
Away: Los Angeles Lakers (31-47, 11-27 Away)
Projected Starting Five:
- PG: Russell Westbrook
- SG: Avery Bradley
- SF: LeBron James (questionable)
- PF: Anthony Davis (questionable)
- C: Dwight Howard
It’s most likely chance saloon for the Lakers, as losing any of their final four games will mean that the San Antonio Spurs only need to win one of theirs to guarantee a play-in berth. With the Spurs going up the Nuggets on the same day, the Lakers will take solace knowing that the Spurs will probably lose that game. The only scenario that the Lakers have toward the play-ins is to go 4-0 and for the Spurs to go 1-3 or 0-4. No other permutation of records really gives them a shot at trying to make the postseason through the tournament.
Still, we’re treading into the realm of the impossible now, considering how the Lakers have performed in the second half of the season. Now, they face the prospect of effectively being eliminated from the play-ins by the same team that sent them home in the first round last year.
There are so many questions, from whether or not LeBron James even plays. James has made some suspicious choices to avoid tough teams to preserve his lead for the scoring title recently, and this might be another one of those games. Anthony Davis is also listed as questionable, since he tweaked his foot again against the Nuggets.
It’s hard to see what they could possibly gain, because the listless Lakers have had a beaten look to them for weeks. They’re 12-13 ATS as away underdogs this season and 45-33-0 on the over/under.
Home: Phoenix Suns (62-16, 31-8 Home)
Projected Starting Five:
- PG: Chris Paul
- SG: Devin Booker
- SF: Mikal Bridges
- PF: Jae Crowder
- C: DeAndre Ayton
The Phoenix Suns have been, by far, the best team in the NBA this season. They’ve been a model of consistency too and have identical home and away records at 31-8.
They have a very clean injury report heading into the game, but don’t count on any of their starters getting heavy minutes especially if the Lakers sit two of their three big names. The Suns have succeeded with a ‘next man up’ approach all season, and Monty Williams may choose to give players like Landry Shamet, Cam Johnson, Bismack Biyombo, Ish Wainwright and Elfrid Payton more game time in the leadup to the postseason.
The Suns are 21-17 ATS as home favorites this season. They’re 41-37-0 on the over/under.
PREDICTION:
Spread: The Suns, from their starters to their bench, are the superior team. I like them to cover the -11.5 spread.
Over/Under: I like the over 231.5 for this game.
