The Phoenix Suns play host to the Los Angeles Lakers tonight — let's get bold.
The Phoenix Suns move into tonight's matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers in search of turning their recent losing ways around, as Jordan Ott's crew have won just one of their last five matchups.
The Lakers, losers of their last two games, are aiming for the same goal.
Tonight could prove to be pivotal as the regular season begins to wind down. The Lakers are just two games above Phoenix in the Western Conference standings.
For the Suns, all of Devin Booker, Jordan Goodwin and Dillon Brooks are out on the injury report. The Lakers are listing Rui Hachimura as questionable and Jaxson Hayes as probable.
Three bold predictions for tonight:
Luka Doncic Drops 40-Point Triple Double
Doncic is no stranger to scoring big numbers against the Suns, both with the Lakers and previously with the Dallas Mavericks.
Doncic leads the NBA in scoring (32.5 PPG), is third in assists (8.6 APG) and second in three-pointers made (3.6 per night).
The Suns are top five in defensive points allowed per game this season, though arguably their top two on-ball defenders in Brooks/Goodwin are out of action.
What could potentially hurt this bold prediction is Phoenix's lack of scoring prowess to turn this into a track meet. The Suns have emptied their bench at the end of their last two games after scoring just 81 and 77 points.
Mark Williams Gets His Groove Back, Scores 20
Mark Williams has struggled as of late since the Suns have returned from the All-Star break, posting negative plus/minus box scores in all four matchups while Phoenix has gone 1-3 in the win/loss column.
Williams hasn't quite been himself in either the scoring or rebound department, though he's previously had success against Los Angeles with performances of 18 points/9 rebounds and 20 points/6 rebounds.
Tonight presents the perfect opportunity for the big man to get back on track, as his recent dip in form and prior success against the Lakers bodes well — especially with Booker/Brooks' scoring unavailable.
Jalen Green's Struggles Continue
Green has shown the ability to take over and score at will previously — though lately that hasn't been the case, especially in Phoenix.
Green has made just 28-83 shots (33%) since the All-Star break, a wildly inefficient output for a scorer of his caliber.
The Suns are hoping those trends can reverse sooner rather than later, and while Jordan Ott is confident Green will bounce back, doing so against the Lakers probably won't happen tonight as Booker's gravity isn't available to him or his fellow shooters.
Short-Handed Suns Reveal Starting Lineup vs Lakers
PHOENIX -- The Phoenix Suns will look to get back on track tonight when they host the Los Angeles Lakers to close out a four-game homestand.
Phoenix has dropped its last two games heading into tonight and scored its two lowest point totals of the season in the losses (77, 81) with Devin Booker (right hip strain), Dillon Brooks (left hand fracture), Jordan Goodwin (left calf strain), Haywood Highsmith (right knee injury management) and Cole Anthony (not with team) all out.
All five of these players will continue to be out against the Lakers, who have also lost two straight coming into the game and will be without Rui Hachimura (illness).
Suns' Starters vs Lakers
With all the injuries they are facing, here's who the Suns will start against Los Angeles:
- Collin Gillespie
- Jalen Green
- Ryan Dunn
- Royce O'Neale
- Mark Williams
This is the lineup Phoenix has rolled with the past two games, and they would like to see Green and Williams specifically step up against the Lakers, as Green has shot 17-for-60 (28.3%) from the field 4-for-26 (15.4%) from 3 over the last three games and Williams has only scored eight points during Phoenix's two-game skid.
Importance of Tonight's Matchup
Tonight's matchup against the Lakers is arguably the most important for the Suns so far in terms of the Western Conference standings, even with Phoenix continuing to face an uphill battle due to key injuries.
The Suns (33-26) currently are the top play-in seed in seventh place in the West and are two games back of the Lakers (34-23) with 23 games left to play.
Phoenix leads the season series 2-1, meaning it would clinch a head-to-head tiebreaker with a victory, which could be big come playoff time.
With a loss, the Suns would fall three games behind the Lakers with one game remaining between the two teams on April 10 in Los Angeles that would then determine the final head-to-head tiebreaker.
The Suns will try to get over the hump of these last couple games and get back to playing their brand of basketball even with their injuries.
Suns coach Jordan Ott spoke pregame on holding himself and his players accountable during this rough patch.
"I think it starts with me," Ott said. "That's our challenge to the group post-game. Look internally. Are there any solutions out there? What we can fix in the near term and then also zoom out - we're in a good place, we're sitting there in a decent place in the Western Conference standings, but we do have higher standards for ourselves.
"(In Tuesday's loss to the Boston Celtics), it was a bad stretch in the third quarter, but we let go of some of the things that we do there in the end of the second quarter, then it gets overwhelming. So, we got to somehow overcome that, we got to see where we are sliding.
"How do we get it back as fast as possible? But that's a good challenge. Book (Devin Booker) is not coming in the game to save us. So, I think that's something that we're all looking forward to, fixing those gaps starting tonight."
Tonight's game is scheduled to tip off shortly after 7:00 p.m. MST.
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