Tonight, your Los Angeles Lakers are looking to recover from a 119-107 season-opening defeat against the reigning champion Denver Nuggets with another prestige Western Conference matchup.
And they may have some injury luck on their side, to boot.
Ahead of their nationally broadcast TNT matchup with the Phoenix Suns (scheduled for 7 p.m. PT), it appears the Lakers are set to face one of their most formidable foes without two of their All-Star backcourt.
Suns guards Devin Booker and Bradley Beal will not suit up tonight in Crypto.com Arena, per Shams Charania of The Athletic.
13-time All-Star Phoenix power forward Kevin Durant, however, is apparently healthy and raring to go.
Our panel of experts -- Ricardo Sandoval, Noel Sanchez and Alex Kirschenbaum -- unpacks some burning questions ahead of the bout.
1. Can Anthony Davis recover from an inconsistent night in Denver?
Alex: LA's starting center seemed up for the challenge against reigning Finals MVP Nikola Jokic in the first half of its Denver season opener, scoring 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field, while adding a rebound, an assist, and a rejection. In the same period, Jokic had 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting, nine rebounds, two assists and a block. Things took a turn in the second half, where Davis failed to score at all, going 0-of-6 from the field. Jokic, meanwhile, finished with a 29-point, 13-rebound, 11-assist triple double, and a game-most +15 plus-minus.
Ricardo: Of course, he can. We saw the type of player he can be this season when he plays like how he did in the first half. The second half was not ideal, and we hope it never happens again, but we’ve seen this movie before. Additionally, it’s not all on AD, as we’ve only seen these types of performances under head coach Darvin Ham. Still, this must stop being a recurring theme, and we hope it all stops tonight. Davis is a top 5 talent in this league and he will show that from now on.
Noel: I think AD is due for a massive bounce-back tonight against the Phoenix Suns. The home crowd, ideal matchup against Nurkic compared to Jokic and the motivation to silence the doubters will fuel him tremendously. I am expecting a 30 & 12 with at least 3 blocks from The Brow.
2. Will D'Angelo Russell or Austin Reaves shoot at or over 50%?
Ricardo: After re-signing with LA this off-season, the two aforementioned above will play a pivotal role in the Lake show to capture number 18. After game one of 82, they didn’t do so well. Reaves and D-Lo shot for a combined 8/23 and a combined 25 points; not ideal for a championship contender starting backcourt. It's one game, though; I’m not going to harp on it. I believe these two will bounce back from their sloppy performance and come up big for the Lakers, meaning they’ll shoot better than 33 and 36 percent.
Noel: The Suns already don't have the best defense and Booker and Beal will both sit out tonight. They allowed a 40-point 3rd quarter from the Warriors on opening night... Austin Reaves will shoot above 50% and D-Lo will be right around there as well.
Alex: LA's two starting guards both struggled as scorers in the Denver loss. They shot a combined 8-of-23 from the floor (Reaves shot 4-of-11 from the field, Russell went 4-of-12). Russell, who struggles under the spotlight, may settle down as the season goes on, but look for Reaves to step up against the Suns' reserves and recover with a night of 50% shooting or better.
3. With two Suns stars seemingly out of commission, who will be Phoenix's second-highest scorer behind Kevin Durant?
Noel: Eric Gordon still was moving quite well even though his 3's were not dropping against Golden State. I'm banking on him to come behind KD in points for the Suns tonight.
Alex: Phoenix's third-highest scorer behind Booker and Durant in its Tuesday opener against the Golden State Warriors (Beal was out) was starting small forward Josh Okogie. The 6'4" wing notched 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the floor. Eric Gordon took way more shots, but struggled through an inefficient shooting night. He scored just 10 points on 4-of-16 shooting. New starting center Jusuf Nurkic had an efficient 14-point, 14-rebound double-double, connecting on 5-of-8 shooting. Gordon will probably earn the start, and even more minutes and touches, if Booker can't play. I'd give Gordon the edge here.
Ricardo: With two Suns stars seemingly out of commission, who will be Phoenix's second-highest scorer behind Kevin Durant?Random players tend to go off against the Lakers; it’s a tradition like none other, so any player off the roster could make this list. However, I’ll be going with the undersized combo guard and veteran Eric Gordon. Gordon is coming off a not-so-great performance against eh Warriors, shooting 25% from the field and 22.2% from three in 32 minutes, so we all know what’s coming for the Lakers tonight. Opponents player's eyes go red when they see the purple and gold, so they’ll need to do their best to minimize the incoming barrage.
4. Los Angeles is listed as a -6 favorite to win tonight. Will the Lakers cover?
Alex: Look for a relatively healthy Lakers team (minus Jarred Vanderbilt and Jalen Hood-Schifino, the latter of whom faced an uphill battle to even crack Darvin Ham's rotation) to notch its first victory of the young season tonight. Without Devin Booker or Bradley Beal at Phoenix's disposal, LA may be able to run away with it -- or at least win by double digits.
Ricardo: I sure hope so. I was dead wrong in the season opener, and I hope LA takes this one; however, you could never be too sure with this team. Still, I think LA is fueled and will want to take it out on a beat-up Suns team. LA takes it by more than six.
Noel: I predict that the Lakers will cover the spread and win!
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