Los Angeles Lakers (51\u201329) vs. Phoenix Suns (36\u201346) | Game 81 of 82<\/p>\n
WHERE TO WATCH AND WHAT TIME<\/p>\n
Date: Friday, April 10<\/p>\n
Tip-off: 7:30 p.m. PT<\/p>\n
Location: Crypto.com Arena \u2014 Los Angeles, California<\/p>\n
TV: Spectrum SportsNet<\/p>\n
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Radio: ESPN LA 710 \/ 1330 KWKW<\/p>\n
GAME PREVIEW<\/p>\n
The Lakers finally got back in the win column to start April, taking down the Warriors in San Francisco behind a vintage performance from LeBron James.<\/p>\n
James led the team across the board with 26 points, 8 rebounds and 11 assists, flirting with a triple-double while delivering key moments late to secure the win.<\/p>\n
The victory snapped a three-game skid and pushed L.A. to 51\u201329, keeping them at No. 4 in the Western Conference with two games remaining.<\/p>\n
The Lakers remain shorthanded in the backcourt, with Luka Don\u010di\u0107 and Austin Reaves still sidelined. Jaxson Hayes will also remain out as he continues to deal with a foot injury.<\/p>\n
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WHERE THEY STAND<\/p>\n
The Lakers (51\u201329) sit No. 4 in the Western Conference.<\/p>\n
With a loss to Phoenix and a Rockets win over the Timberwolves, L.A. could fall to No. 5 heading into the final game of the regular season.<\/p>\n
QUICK OPPONENT RUNDOWN<\/p>\n
The Suns (36\u201346) have officially been eliminated from playoff contention but are still playing competitive basketball late in the season.<\/p>\n
Phoenix is coming off a four-point win over Dallas on Wednesday, with Devin Booker leading the way with 37 points.<\/p>\n
The Suns have won two of their last five games and continue to rely heavily on Booker, who leads the team in scoring at 26.1 points per game in 64 appearances. Dillon Brooks ranks second on the team with 20.3 points per game in 55 games.<\/p>\n
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Despite their record, Phoenix ranks 17th in the league in offensive rating (114.3) and 10th in defensive rating (113.0), showing more balance than their standing suggests.<\/p>\n
WHAT TO WATCH FOR<\/p>\n
Containing Devin Booker \u2014 and limiting extra possessions.<\/p>\n
Booker remains one of the league\u2019s elite scorers, and his ability to create offense at all three levels could pose a significant challenge for a Lakers team already thin in the backcourt.<\/p>\n
With Don\u010di\u0107 and Reaves sidelined, L.A.\u2019s perimeter defense is undermanned, putting added pressure on their remaining guards to contain Booker and limit his impact.<\/p>\n
Beyond Booker, the Lakers must take care of the ball and finish defensive possessions. The Suns rank 4th in points off turnovers (20.2), meaning sloppy play could quickly snowball into easy offense and put L.A. in an early hole.<\/p>\n
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Phoenix also ranks 7th in second-chance points (16.2), making rebounding and effort plays another key area the Lakers must clean up to avoid giving away extra opportunities.<\/p>\n
NOTABLE OPPONENT RANKS AMONG THE NBA<\/p>\n
The Suns’ current ranking:<\/p>\n
17th (114.3) in offensive rating<\/p>\n
10th (113.0) in defensive rating<\/p>\n
Other rankings:<\/p>\n
PTS \u2014 25th (112.8)<\/p>\n
FG% \u2014 28th (45.5%)<\/p>\n
3PM \u2014 5th (14.8)<\/p>\n
3P% \u2014 11th (36.2%)<\/p>\n
ASTS \u2014 27th (24.7)<\/p>\n
STLs \u2014 4th (9.6)<\/p>\n
SEASON SERIES<\/p>\n
Game 1 \u2014 Suns 125\u2013108 win at L.A. (Dec. 1)<\/p>\n
Game 2 \u2014 Lakers 116\u2013114 win at Phoenix (Dec. 14)<\/p>\n
Game 3 \u2014 Suns 132\u2013108 win at Phoenix (Dec. 23)<\/p>\n
Game 4 \u2014 Suns 113\u2013110 win at Phoenix (Feb. 26)<\/p>\n
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Phoenix leads the season series 3\u20131. The Lakers will look to avoid a 1\u20134 finish against the Suns this season.<\/p>\n
INJURY REPORT<\/p>\n
Lakers:<\/p>\n
Jaxson Hayes (foot): Out<\/p>\n
Luka Don\u010di\u0107 (Grade 2 left hamstring strain): Out<\/p>\n
Austin Reaves (oblique): Out<\/p>\n
Suns:<\/p>\n
Jalen Green (knee): Questionable<\/p>\n
THREADS FOR THE GAME<\/p>\n
The Lakers will wear their black \u201cCalifornia Dream\u201d jerseys at home, while the Suns will wear their white Association Edition uniforms.<\/p>\n
NEXT MATCHUP<\/p>\n
The Lakers will close out the regular season on Sunday at home against the Utah Jazz.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Los Angeles Lakers (51\u201329) vs. Phoenix Suns (36\u201346) | Game 81 of 82 WHERE TO WATCH AND WHAT…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":707616,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3791],"tags":[1013,7,686,633,2292,1195,861,32,185,38502,150,368,6,2065,472,4045,604,6445,308,427,255,574],"class_list":{"0":"post-707615","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-phoenix-suns","8":"tag-austin-reaves","9":"tag-basketball","10":"tag-dallas","11":"tag-defensive-rating","12":"tag-devin-booker","13":"tag-dillon-brooks","14":"tag-jalen-green","15":"tag-jaxson-hayes","16":"tag-lebron-james","17":"tag-los-angeles-california","18":"tag-los-angeles-lakers","19":"tag-luka-doncic","20":"tag-nba","21":"tag-phoenix","22":"tag-phoenix-suns","23":"tag-phoenixsuns","24":"tag-suns","25":"tag-the-suns","26":"tag-timberwolves","27":"tag-utah-jazz","28":"tag-warriors","29":"tag-western-conference"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116382019952774330","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/707615","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=707615"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/707615\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/707616"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=707615"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=707615"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=707615"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}