Your Los Angeles Lakers will be facing off against a depleted Phoenix Suns squad today in their matinee matchup against one of the Western Conference's other underperforming, starry squads.
Per the NBA's latest injury report, the Suns' third star in their "Big Three" (a fairly distant third), shooting guard Bradley Beal, remains out as he continues to manage his left hamstring injury.
The 30-year-old former three-time All-Star has missed 27 games and counting for his new club with various maladies, including the last three straight with this hamstring issue. When healthy, he's been pretty effective in more of a supplemental role, as All-Star Phoenix point guard Devin Booker and All-Star Phoenix power forward Kevin Durant have taken on the brunt of the Suns' ball handling duties.
But starting center Jusuf Nurkic, grappling with a sprained right ankle, is considered merely probable to play. Phoenix's big man depth is fairly thin behind him. Beal's primary backup, veteran shooting guard Eric Gordon, is alarmingly questionable to play with a sore left groin.
Suns bench guard Damion Lee, who's missed most of the year while recuperating from a torn meniscus, has also been ruled out.
The 33-24 Phoenix, coached by Darvin Ham's LA predecessor Frank Vogel, occupies the eighth seed in the Western Conference, while the 31-27 Lakers are right behind them in ninth. Both are a bit below their preseason expectations in terms of overall rank, though given the two teams' top-line talent, it still seems possible they're capable of beating anyone in any given playoff series, as the postseason looms.
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