Suns vs. Lakers Betting Preview
Suns vs. Lakers Betting Preview: The Phoenix Suns will host the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 1 of their best-of-seven playoff series. The Suns ended their 11-year playoff drought this season as they acquired future NBA Hall-of-Famer Chris Paul over the offseason. The Lakers, on the other hand, had to beat the Golden State Warriors in the play-in tournament to earn the seventh seed in the Western Conference, as they slipped in the standings due to long-term absences from LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
James will almost certainly not come into this series even close to 100%, as he suffered a high right ankle sprain in March.
Suns vs. Lakers Betting Odds
The spread for Tuesday night is -2.5 Suns. The over/under is slated at 213.5.
Lakers Look to Build Off Late Season Success
The Lakers closed out their regular season with five straight wins, as one of those wins came against the Suns, and another came against the New York Knicks.
Davis had a historical performance in that game against the Suns, as he put up 42 points, 12 rebounds, five assists, three steals, and three blocks, becoming the only Laker in their storied franchise to ever put up those numbers.
Despite being hobbled with his ankle injury, James still has looked good in the games he’s played in, as he put up 22 points, 11 rebounds, and ten assists in their play-in victory over the Warriors. James also hit the biggest shot of the game, as his 3-pointer late in the game ultimately helped the defending champs clinch their second consecutive playoff appearance.
The Lakers also got tremendous contributions from their guard rotation of Dennis Schroder, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Alex Caruso, as all three guys will be instrumental in limiting the effectiveness of the Suns’ star backcourt on offense and providing timely shooting off assists from James.
Suns Look to Prove They Belong
The Suns pulled off a complete 180 this season, as they went from a non-playoff team last year to the second seed in the West.
Devin Booker has continued to establish himself as one of the best young scoring guards in the league, as he can beat you with his pull-up jumpers or beat you from downtown. He can score in a multitude of ways and slice through the best of the best defenses.
Paul will be there to help facilitate the offense for Booker, Deandre Ayton, and the crew as well. The element of the unpredictability of Paul, as he can either pull up and shoot at any time or identify the small cracks in opposing defenses for easy bucket opportunities, will make life difficult for the Lakers defense.
The Suns run a high-powered offense, but the Lakers are ranked first in defensive rating this season, so they’ll have to earn good looks on offense.
Suns vs. Lakers Betting Prediction
The Lakers could end up winning this series, but the Suns are home, and the Lakers will probably need a game to make adjustments and better figure their opponent.
Free Play: -2.5 Suns
Over/Under: Under 213.5
