The Phoenix Suns will try again. Still winless against the Los Angeles Lakers this season, the Suns will get another stab at ending their woes versus their Pacific Division rivals when they play another game in Tinseltown. Will the Suns finally get that elusive win? Or, will the Lakers continue their mastery of Phoenix?

Catch this game live on Friday, January 12, 2024 at 11 AM, Manila time

Away: Phoenix Suns (19-18/8-7 Away)

Projected Starting Five:

• Devin Booker
• Bradley Beal
• Grayson Allen
• Kevin Durant
• Jusuf Nurkic

The Suns have been regular victims of LeBron James and the Lakers this season, as they’ve lost all of the first three meetings with the Purple & Gold. However, it could be a different story this Friday, as the Suns will finally have their Big Three complete for the first time against the Lakers. Devin Booker, Bradley Beal, and Kevin Durant are all healthy and ready to go versus the Lakers, and that spells trouble for Los Angeles, which has struggled mightily ever since winning the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament. 

Of the trio, only Durant has been present in all games against the Lakers this season, averaging 36.0 points on 54.2 FG% in those contests. He had 30 in the Suns’ 138-111 road loss to the Los Angeles Clippers last Tuesday, while Booker and Beal had 20 and 15 points, respectively. The Lakers may pay too much attention to the Suns’chief weapons to the point that they forget Grayson Allen, who can be viewed as an X-factor for Phoenix after he averaged 15.4 points on 49.1 FG% and 52.9 3FG% the last five games.

Home: Los Angeles Lakers (19-19/13-6 Home)

Projected Starting Five:

• Austin Reaves
• Cam Reddish
• Taurean Prince
• LeBron James 
• Anthony Davis 

After a long frustrating stretch, the Lakers are finally on the upswing. They have a winning streak going after beating the Los Angeles Clippers (106-103) and the Toronto Raptors (132-131) on Monday and Wednesday, respectively, and will be eyeing to sustain that form when they welcome the Suns.  Considering how successful they’ve been this season against Phoenix, the Lakers seem to have the right formula to stifle Kevin Durant and company. 

Defensively, the Lakers have limited the Suns this season to only 52.4 eFG% and forced them to cough up the ball by an average of 19.7 per game in the regular-season series. Those are worse than Phoenix’s season numbers of 54.8 eFG% and 14.7 turnovers per contest. Moreover, the Lakers are brandishing a 3-1 record against the spread in their last four home games against Phoenix, which is just 3-7 ATS in the last 10 contests away from The Valley.

PREDICTIONS:

Spread: The Suns (+1.5) cover the spread.

Over/Under: The total (237.0) hits the Over.