NBA: Los Angeles Lakers vs Phoenix Suns Game 2 Preview, Odds, Prediction

The LA Lakers lost Game 1 of their series against the Phoenix Suns, but they intend to bounce back and hit back at rivals. There was a lot of fire on Sunday night, with players bringing tension to the court right from the start. It would increase additionally following Chris Paul’s injury and escalate following one tough foul CP made on LeBron. All this promises a good and interesting Game 2, and we are here to make a preview of the same. Take five minutes of your time and read, because you might find something interesting and useful in it.

Preview

Los Angeles Lakers (-125) scored just 90 points in Game 1, which is one troubling fact for Frank Vogel. In our personal opinion, that was because of Anthony Davis’s poor performance, as Eyebrow recorded just 13 points. We’ve mentioned on several occasions before that if he doesn’t show up in offense, even LeBron can’t help the LAL, because Davis’ role in that area is more important than LBJ’s.

LeBron had just 18 points with 10 assists and seven rebounds, but with five turnovers. Dennis Schroder added 14 points, Andre Drummond had 12 with nine boards, and the most notable support from the bench came from Montrezl Harrell 12 and Alex Caruso 10 points.

The Lakers were terrible from the three-point territory, 7-for-26, and they completely lost the battle for controlling the glass, with the Suns limiting them to just 33 rebounds.

Phoenix Suns (+105) have solved the opening clash because Deandre Ayton tore apart the Lakers on both ends of the court. He scored 21 points, missing just once in 11 shots, and posted 16 boards, 8 of them in the offense. The former No.1 pick was more than dominant against Davis, who failed to show up mostly because of his superb defense.

Devin Booker did his thing with 34 points, but he also had eight dimes and seven boards. In the moments when Chris Paul had to go out due to a neck injury, he was the one who held the ball and tried to stabilize the Suns.

Still, that can’t compare with CP’s influence. As soon as the veteran came back to the court, everything sorted out for Phoenix. Even though he had just seven points, the way he calms the team when having the ball in his hands is incredible.

Head to Head Games

The Lakers and the Suns met three times this year before the playoffs. The first match was in LA, and the Suns won, 114-104, the second in Arizona also finished in their favor, 111-94, and the latest at Staples, on May 8, saw the champs winning, 123-110.

Prediction

Ir might be odd to hear, but we love the Suns’ style of play, and we believe in their win here. Regardless of whether AD plays better or not, the Suns will answer pretty much everything Lakers put on the table tonight. As Charles Barkley stated, nobody is afraid of them anymore, and we particularly mean that about Booker and CP, who are always anxious to get out and prove their worth. One more thing we need to say. If you noticed, the Suns’ sidekicks, Saric, Bridges, Payne, Crowder all had substandard nights, and we expect to see at least one of them bursting tonight, which would be enough to neutralize any improvement on the Lakers’ side.

Pick: Suns Win +105