Lakers vs Suns Preseason Preview and Game Thread: The first Pacific division clash

The Lakers will kick off their first set of back-to-back games this season against two pacific division nemesis, starting with the Suns on Friday.

The Lakers look to build on their season-opening victory as they take on the visiting Phoenix Suns on Friday. Los Angeles aims to make it two straight wins in a row to begin the season, something they haven’t done since 2010-2011.

Start time and TV schedule

Who: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Phoenix Suns

When: 7 p.m. PT, Oct 25

Where: Crypto.com Arena

Watch: ESPN, Spectrum SportsNet

Now that we’ve had two days to celebrate that feel-good victory against the Minnesota Timberwolves, the focus now shifts to the Suns, who are also coming off an impressive season-opener win versus the L.A. Clippers.

These two teams should get used to seeing each other because they’re going to square off thrice in the next month, including two times this week. It’ll also be a battle between Pacific Division foes and if there’s anything we’ve learned from being in the play-in race these last few years, it’s that the division standings race are as important as conference rankings.

So, while I don’t want to label games as “must wins” these early in the season, the next two ones against the Suns and Sacramento Kings — who the Lakers are facing on a back-to-back— are the ones they need to get just because of how competitive the Western Conference is.

Besides the importance of winning the next two games, Mike Budenholzer’s Suns are a good test for JJ Redick in terms of his ability to game plan. Redick cooked up an impressive defensive scheme against the Wolves, much to the satisfaction of Anthony Davis, and it’s going to be interesting to see how he does it against a top-heavy Suns team featuring Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal and Devin Booker.

With all that in mind, here are three factors that will also determine if the Lakers can nab their second straight victory:

Will the shots go in this time?

What made the Lakers’ first victory of the season extra impressive was that they managed to not only beat the Wolves, but also led them for most of the game despite shooting 16.7%(!) from the 3-point line. This honestly still blows me away.

L.A. only converted five of the 30 3-pointers they attempted but helped make up for this by scoring 72 points in the paint. This is a good indication of how versatile this team can be on offense.

While that was encouraging to see, we know that the Lakers can’t shoot like this forever and likely won’t. However, the question that lies ahead is if their shooting percentage will ascend to the mean as early as game two.

Hopefully, it does because the purple and gold will be on the receiving end of this Suns team’s excellent shotmaking ability. If it does not, L.A. will have to rely on feasting in the paint again and this time against a Jusuf Nurkić-anchored defense.

Can the Lakers continue to push the pace?

Another big reason the Lakers led the Wolves throughout the game was that they controlled the pace and made it a point to win the possession battle, which Redick credited the team for postgame.

It’ll be ideal if Los Angeles does this once again to the Suns, who almost lost to the Clippers in the fourth quarter after the latter went on 15-2 run. As the Clips did during that spurt before choking the lead in typical Clippers fashion, the Lakers should generate fastbreak opportunities and increase the tempo — two things they did very well against the Timberwolves.

Note that this Suns team will beat their opponents with their top-heavy talent and shotmaking capabilities. The Lakers don’t need to beat them at their own game but more so let the visitors adjust to their style and tempo.

Can the Lakers contain the Suns’ big three?

Speaking of top-heavy talent, it really boils down to this for the Suns. They need at least two of their superstars to carry them every night and if the Lakers’ defensive scheme can contain the majority of Booker, Durant and Beal, they should be fine.

Jarred Vanderbilt’s absence will be felt a lot in this one, but it’s the Lakers’ responsibility to make up for that with their team’s defense.

Their own top-end talent in AD and LeBron James can match the Suns’ superstar production ,but they’ll need help from Rui Hachiura — who is coming off a fantastic season debut — D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves and hopefully Max Christie in this one.

Besides the Lakers’ 3-point shooting ascending back to the mean, their role players will have to show up against a Suns team that’s as committed as them to starting the season on a strong note.

Let’s see which team will hand the other their first loss of the season on Friday.

Notes and Updates

• Before we talk about the injury report, one thing the Lakers probably noted in the Suns’ season opener was how they lost the points in the paint battle to the Clippers, 62-42. Phoenix also gave up 13 second-chance opportunities and 51 rebounds to their opponent. This might just be a point of emphasis in Redick’s well-detailed game plan ahead of Thursday’s game.
• This will also be the perfect game to observe whether or not the Lakers have truly improved their ability to crash the glass and rebound the ball as compared to last season. The purple and gold showed strides in that last game and, hopefully, it continues.
• For the Lakers’ injury report, Jalen Hood-Schifino is the new addition as he is doubtful with an illness. Jarred Vanderbilt (right foot injury recovery), Christian Wood (right knee injury recovery) and Christian Koloko (return to competition reconditioning) will all be out again against the Suns.
• As for the Suns, Josh Okogie (hamstring) won’t suit up.
• We will be live on Playback for this game, so be sure to join us!

You can follow Nicole on Twitter at @nicoleganglani.