The Phoenix Suns are walking into this one with fresh bruises. They just got absolutely nuked 138-89 by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Cup quarterfinals, a game that turned into the worst loss in Suns franchise history.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Lakers have been one of the better stories of the early season at 17-7, but they’re also coming off their own ugly taste after a 132-119 loss to the San Antonio Spurs.
So yeah, this has “get-right game” written all over it. The only problem is that both teams might be missing key pieces, and that’s where this matchup starts feeling like a chess match played with half the board missing.
Injury Report
Suns
- Devin Booker: Questionable (right groin strain)
- Dillon Brooks: Questionable (left Achilles soreness)
- Jalen Green: Out (right hamstring strain)
- Isaiah Livers: Out (right hip strain)
Lakers
- Bronny James: Out (G League, on assignment)
- Maxi Kleber: Out (lumbar muscle strain)
- Austin Reaves: Out (left calf strain)
Devin Booker is the swing piece. He’s putting up 25.0 points and 6.7 assists this season, and when he’s not out there, the Suns’ offense starts to look way more predictable.
Austin Reaves being out is massive too, because he’s been playing like an All-Star with 27.8 points and 6.7 assists per game. That’s not “nice role player production.” That’s “you just lost your second star” production.
Why The Suns Have The Advantage
The biggest advantage is simple: urgency and embarrassment can be fuel. That Thunder loss wasn’t just a loss; it was the kind of beatdown that makes a team hear jokes for a week.
The Suns are 14-11 and sitting seventh in the West, so they don’t have the luxury of sleepwalking through games, especially at home.
If Booker plays, the Suns suddenly have a real “we can win this late” button. He’s still their organizer, their late-clock shot maker, and the guy who can bend a defense without needing a million screens.
And even with Jalen Green out, this roster has new bite. The whole Kevin Durant era is over, and the Suns basically pivoted into a different personality by bringing in Green and Dillon Brooks in that massive offseason shakeup.
Green being out hurts, but Brooks has still been a real scoring piece at 21.7 points per game, and if his Achilles lets him suit up, he’s exactly the kind of annoying, physical wing who can make life miserable for star guards.
The Suns also have a pretty clear matchup attack if Booker is active: go straight at the Lakers’ perimeter defense and force rotations, because the Lakers are missing Reaves and Kleber, which cuts into both ballhandling depth and frontcourt versatility.
The Suns can absolutely win this if Booker plays and they turn it into a grind. Make it ugly, make it physical, and make the Lakers win with their role guys.
Why The Lakers Have The Advantage
This is where it gets blunt. The Lakers have the best player in the game, and it isn’t close right now.
Luka Doncic is leading the league in scoring at 35.0 points per game, with 9.0 rebounds and 9.0 assists. That’s video-game stuff, and it travels. Even in the loss to the Spurs, he still popped for 35, because that’s just what he does.
And the Lakers aren’t a one-man show. LeBron James isn’t scoring like peak LeBron anymore, but he’s still tilting games with playmaking and control at 7.6 assists per game. He also just had 19 points, 15 rebounds, eight assists, and three blocks against the Spurs, and that’s a 40-year-old doing grown man stuff.
The other huge edge is structure. The Lakers are 17-7 for a reason. They’ve stacked wins early, they’ve already shown they can beat quality teams on the road, and they’ve had games where the Luka-LeBron pairing just chokes the life out of opponents late.
Now, yes, Reaves being out is a real hit. But the Lakers can still create offense every single possession because Doncic is basically an offense by himself. If Booker sits or is limited, the Suns simply don’t have that same “guaranteed shot quality” guy for 48 minutes.
And after getting punched by the Spurs, this is the kind of spot where the Lakers usually respond. They know they’re better than a sloppy performance, and Doncic has been in full “statement season” mode.
Suns vs. Lakers Prediction
This game comes down to health, and I’m not going to play cute with it.
If Devin Booker plays and looks normal, the Suns can absolutely keep this tight and make it sweaty late. If he sits, the Suns are basically asking Dillon Brooks to be a top-tier creator while also trying to slow down Luka Doncic, and that’s just not a real plan.
The Lakers losing Austin Reaves matters a ton, but they still have the one thing the Suns can’t replicate tonight: a consistent superstar shot generator every single possession. Luka is going to hunt mismatches, get to his stepbacks, live in the paint, and spam playmaking until the Suns crack.
The Suns will come out angry after that Thunder humiliation. I think they’ll hit early shots, the crowd will be into it, and it’ll look like a bounce-back… for a while.
Then the Lakers settle in, slow the chaos, and Luka starts stacking efficient possessions like it’s automatic.
Prediction: Lakers 116, Suns 110
