Phoenix Suns (0-1) vs. Los Angeles Lakers (0-1)
October 22, 2021 10:00 pm EDT
The Line: Los Angeles Lakers -1; Over/Under: -223
(Get latest betting odds)
The Phoenix Suns travel to the STAPLES Center to take on the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night.
The Phoenix Suns will be eager to bounce back in this one after getting routed by the Nuggets in a disappointing 110-98 home loss on Wednesday. Mikal Bridges led the team in scoring with 16 points, Chris Paul added 15 points with 10 assists while DeAndre Ayton chipped in with 15 points. As a team, the Suns shot just 41 percent from the field and 14 of 37 from the 3-point line as they looked comfortable after exploding for 38 points in the second quarter to lead by as many as 15 points, before going ice-cold in the fourth quarter where they managed just 16 points. Devin Booker had a rough night as he scored just 12 points on three of 15 shooting while Jae Crowder finished with just two points on zero of five shooting.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Lakers are also looking to bounce back after falling just short to the Warriors in a 121-114 home loss on Tuesday. LeBron James led the team with 34 points, 11 rebounds and five assists while Anthony Davis added 33 points with 11 rebounds on 15 of 26 shooting, but no other player finished in double figures in scoring. As a team, the Lakers shot 47 percent from the field and 15 of 42 from the 3-point line, but they were outrebounded by the smaller Warriors by 50-45 and they got next to no production from their role players. Russell Westbrook scored just eight points on four of 13 shooting while Kent Bazemore scored just eight points on three of nine shooting.
Looking at the betting trends, the Suns are 2-5-1 ATS in their last eight games against a team with a losing record and 8-3 ATS in their last 11 games playing on one days rest. The Lakers are 1-5 ATS in their last six home games, 1-5-1 ATS in their last seven games against a team with a losing record and 0-5 ATS in their last five games playing on two days rest.
Head to head, the under is 4-1-1 in the last six meetings overall and the under is 7-3 in the last 10 meetings in Los Angeles.
The Suns will be kicking themselves after blowing a 15-point lead at home to the Nuggets on Wednesday, but they can make up for that with a win over the revamped Lakers who are coming into this one fresh off a poor loss themselves. The Lakers could very well be heavy favorites if these two squads met later in the season, but as it stands, I have to lean towards the Suns to get it done as the Lakers’ role players continue to work through some growing pains as a new team.
