The Los Angeles Lakers and the Phoenix Suns will be looking to make it two wins from two in the new NBA season when they go head to head at the Crypto.com Arena on Saturday.
This will be the third meeting between the two Western Conference teams within the space of three weeks, with both sides splitting the results in their two pre-season clashes.
Match preview
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The JJ Redick era got underway in style as the rookie coach watched his Los Angeles Lakers pick up a 110-103 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Crypto.com Arena on Wednesday to secure their first victory on opening night in six years.
It was a historic night for the NBA and the James family as LeBron James and Bronny James became the first father-son duo to feature in the league after the latter was selected with the 55th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.
LeBron knocked down 16 points in 35 minutes of action, but it was Anthony Davis who stole the show, finishing with a 36-point, 16-rebound double-double to go with four assists in a dominant individual display.
While it is still early days, the victory over Minnesota, one of the strong contenders in the Western Conference, could be informative on what lies ahead as the Lakers look to improve on their largely disappointing 2023-24 campaign.
A 47-35 record saw the Los Angeles Lakers finish seventh in the West, but while they brushed aside the New Orleans Pelicans 110-106 in the play-in to secure a playoff ticket, their post-season campaign came to an end in the first round as they fell 4-1 against the Denver Nuggets.
Next up is the challenge of an opposing side whom they met twice in pre-season, losing 118-114 in their first encounter on October 7, 11 days before claiming a 128-122 overtime victory at the Footprint Center.
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The Phoenix Suns came out on top in an intense first game of the season as they picked up a 116-113 overtime victory over the Los Angeles Clippers in their outing at the newly-built Intuit Dome on Thursday.
Having trailed by as much as 10 points in the fourth quarter, Kevin Durant led the Suns' comeback as he knocked down 25 points, including a game-tying jumper with less than 30 seconds to take the game to overtime.
Five Phoenix players finished in double figures, including Bradley Beal, who drained 24 points on an efficient 8-of-12 shooting from the field, and Devin Booker, who tallied 15 points after a slow start to the game.
This followed a decent run of results in pre-season, where Mike Budenholzer's men finished with a 3-2 record, picking up victories over the Lakers, Detroit Pistons and Denver Nuggets while averaging 110.8 points per game.
Like Saturday's opponents, the Phoenix Suns enter the new campaign off the back of a forgettable playoff run last term, crashing out in the first round after getting swept 4-0 by the Minnesota Timberwolves.
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Team News
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Two decades on since he was drafted as an 18-year-old rookie, LeBron made NBA history by playing an official game alongside his son Bronny against the Timberwolves, and the latter could once again feature in limited capacity on Saturday.
Following his dominant display against Minnesota, Davis has now put up 35+ points and 15+ rebounds in 15 games for the Lakers, equalling Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain for the fourth-most in franchise history.
On the injury front, Redick will be unable to call upon the device of Jarred Vanderbilt, who has been ruled out with a foot problem, while center Christian Koloko is a doubt, having missed the Timberwolves game through illness.
Christian Wood missed the whole pre-season after undergoing knee surgery in September and the experienced forward is also out of contention for the Los Angeles Lakers.
As for the Phoenix Suns, Josh Okogie has been sidelined since picking up a hamstring injury in the pre-season clash against the Pistons on October 12 and the 26-year-old will play no part in Saturday's game.
Durant finished with a team-high 25 points against the Clippers last time out and the 36-year-old, who proved that he is still capable of hitting clutch shots, will lead the Suns' offence once again, alongside Booker and former Washington Wizards man Beal.
Los Angeles Lakers possible starting 5:
Russell, Reaves, Davis, Hachimura, LeBron
Phoenix Suns possible starting 5:
Booker, Jones, Nurkic, Beal, Durant
We say: Los Angeles Lakers to win by 3+ points
In the third meeting in three weeks between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Phoenix Suns, we expect an intense battle as they look to secure bragging rights, having shared the results in their previous two encounters.
The Suns struggled for the most part of the game against a Clippers side without offensive leader Kawhi Leonard and we fancy Redick's men to come out on top in this one.
Joshua Ojele
