The Los Angeles Lakers will hope to arrest their current two-game losing streak when they face off against the Phoenix Suns later tonight in a highly anticipated clash between the rival franchises. The Suns have been shorthanded recently with Kevin Durant missing the last seven games due to injury.
Durant is expected to return against the Lakers, prompting Lakers fans to express their frustration on social media.
“Another case of Lakers Game Sudden Recovery Syndrome,” said one fan in distress about how star players always choose the Lakers to return from injury.
“Everybody gets up for the Lakers. We are the main character of the NBA,” said one fan trying to console himself.
“Every injury return… Play Lakers. Sit out following game,” said a fan expecting Durant to return to the injury list after playing the Lakers.
“Let’s not get too greedy, we literally just played NO without Zion, PHI without Maxey or Embiid, and Memphis without Ja or Bane. We’ve been running crazy good the last few weeks with a schedule full of good injured teams and healthy bad ones,” said one rational fan who pointed out recent matchups against heavily depleted teams.
“Why do we act like this as a fanbase? It should be a sign of respect that players try to come back from injury and play against us, or play their best against us. I hope the players don’t have this sorry-ass victim mentality. We should hope teams are at their best so we can beat their best,” said another fan who takes this as a sign of respect.
This is a controversial topic for many fans, but in this case, it does seem to be a factor. The Suns aren’t just reintroducing Durant to the lineup, Bradley Beal will also be returning after missing the last five games.
Lakers fans are pissed off and they are right to feel this way. Most people dismiss important players returning against the Lakers as a ‘narrative,’ but their matchup against the Suns tonight is the perfect example, along with various other recent incidents.
Nikola Jokic recently returned from a five-game absence against the Dallas Mavericks, one game before the Nuggets faced off against the Lakers. Marcus Smart returned after weeks away with an ankle sprain for the Grizzlies 15 November game against the Lakers. There were multiple similar instances last season as well, like when Brandon Ingram returned against the Lakers after missing 12 games in April 2024.
Earlier this season, Bradley Beal missed two out of three games for the Suns with an injury, with the one game he played being against the Lakers. He’ll be returning alongside Durant in this game.
The team went 1-6 without Durant and is 2-5 without Beal this season, so these additions can greatly change how this matchup goes. Durant is averaging 27.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 3.4 assists this season while Beal is averaging 17.8 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 3.7 assists.
Both players are offensive weapons who will make the Lakers’ bottom-five defense in the NBA sweat, especially after their shocking last-second loss to the Orlando Magic and second-half demolition against the Denver Nuggets. They’re 10-6 on the season and need to execute this win to keep their top-six hopes in play.
The Suns are 9-7 right now, losing their last five games after a hot start to the season. The presence of Durant and Beal helped supplement Devin Booker into making the Suns look like a West contender. They will hope to reclaim that status with the returning players, with a statement win over the Lakers being the perfect way to re-announce their status as contenders.
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