Lakers vs Suns

The Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns face off on Tuesday night at the Footprint Center in Phoenix. Which team will win?

If you would rather wait for more news around James, I would look to the full game over if he is ruled in. Tipico has no influence over nor are any such revenues in any way dependent on or linked to the newsrooms or news coverage. The Lakers will have LeBron James and Anthony Davis, even though they both carry the questionable tag, but I don’t think they will help the visitors to avoid losing this game." The Lakers have failed to cover the spread in four of their last five games. The Suns may have motivation questions given the fact that they are seven games up on the No. 1 seed in the West, but I see their offense gashing a Lakers defense that is 28th in defensive rating since the All-Star break, per NBA.com. The team total is high at 122, but the Suns scored 140 on the hapless Lakers defense last time out and would love to put the final nail in the team's coffin for this season. They have failed to cover the spread in three consecutive games.

We go over some of the best betting options for Tuesday's matchup between the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns.

Things look bleak for the Lakers as they’ll have to count on a win against the league’s best team to stay alive in the playoff race. In any case, take the Lakers to put up a decent fight and keep it close enough to cover the spread, even though the Suns are poised to log a win at home tonight. While they only scored 96 in their last game on Sunday, the Suns averaged 125.6 points per game in their previous 10 contests before that. They’ll look for a big win in a rematch of last year’s first round playoff series when the Suns ousted the Lakers 4-2. The Lakers have lost their last six games in a row and are on the verge of missing the playoffs altogether for the first time since the 2018-19 season. The Suns, having already clinched the first seed in the playoffs, are on the brink of breaking their franchise record for most wins in a single season as they look for their 63rd of the year.

The Lakers' loss to the Suns was a move we've seen a few times this year, a perfect end to encapsulate their horrendous year.

On the bright side, at least we never have to watch this specific group of players participate in a game that even slightly mathematically matters again. But Phoenix put a beatdown on them after the break, leading by 24 midway through the third quarter and never being seriously threatened again. The Lakers, missing LeBron James once again, came out with a competitive first half, actually leading 31-28 after the first quarter and only trailing by five points at halftime.

Get a recap of the Los Angeles Lakers vs. Phoenix Suns basketball game.

... The Suns hosted a sellout crowd for a 25th straight game. Once the Suns built their big lead, the Lakers didn't seem particularly interested in mounting a comeback. Booker scored 16 points in the third and finished 12 of 22 from the field, including 6 for 9 from 3-point range. ... The Suns swept the Lakers this season, winning all four games. Even without James, the Lakers led for a big chunk of the first half. The Suns took a 63-58 into halftime. He came into the game averaging 5.8 points per game. ... The Suns topped their previous record of 62 wins in a season. It was a tight game on Tuesday during the first half but Phoenix used a 29-9 run in the third quarter to create separation. Booker signed his jersey during the postgame celebration before handing it to team radio broadcaster Al McCoy, who is in the midst of his 50th season on the microphone. We have all put in the work. “And there's a lot more to go.

Action Network NBA analyst Raheem Palmer previews Tuesday's matchup between the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns.

The Suns have all the advantages in this matchup and Devin Booker has terrorized this Lakers team all season long, averaging 25.3 points, 7.0 assists and 5.3 rebounds in their three games this season. That said, I’m not willing to back the Lakers either as they’ve lost six straight games and failed to cover four out of their last five. The Lakers haven’t been able to put up much resistance against the Suns this season with three Suns wins all coming by double digits in games with final scores of 115-105, 108-90 and 140-111. That said, with the Suns having everything wrapped up, motivation is a concern here and they come off 117-96 loss on the road to the Oklahoma City Thunder as 14.5 point favorites. The total is intriguing however as my model makes this game 233. James is questionable for this matchup with an ankle injury but you have to assume he will play given the importance of this game. With injuries to both LeBron James and Anthony Davis, the Lakers have seen their duo play just 22 games together this season. Even more impressive is that they’ve maintained their dominance in the absence of Chris Paul who missed 16 games this season. They’re just 4-16 during this span with a Net Rating of -7.8, only the Portland Trail Blazers and Oklahoma City Thunder have been worse. On Tuesday night, they’ll host the Los Angeles Lakers in a rematch of last year’s first round playoff series in what could be a funeral for the team from L.A. If it weren’t for the Brooklyn Nets, the Lakers may quite possibly be one of the most disappointing teams we’ve seen in recent memory. For real-time injury updates, check out our FantasyLabs NBA news page.