All Lakers Expert Predictions for LA-Suns Clash Friday

Phoenix heads to Los Angeles for the first official clash of the year between two West hopefuls.

Feb 25, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) against Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant (35) at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

On Friday night, the Los Angeles Lakers will host a starry Phoenix Suns squad led by All-Stars Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal.

Here are our expert predictions for the evening's festivities.

Can Los Angeles Cover the Spread?

The Lakers are -1.5 point favorites to best Phoenix Friday night, per sportsbook aggregator The Action Network. It's tough to predict the outcomes of contests where there's so much potential for variance, given that the Suns boast some incredibly talented sharpshooters. But the Lakers present something of a matchup nightmare for the Suns, in the form of All-Defensive Second Team center Anthony Davis. Given that the 6-foot-10 Kentucky product, a nine-time All-Star, made mincemeat of Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert during the Lakers' season opener against the favored Minnesota Timberwolves, it seems likely he'll be able to handle slow-footed Suns starting center Jusuf Nurkic. Look for L.A. to beat the Suns behind a big night from Davis.

Will Rui Hachimura Have an Encore Performance?

L.A.'s starting combo forward had a promising start to his 2024-25 season. The 6-foot-8 Gonzaga product scored 18 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the floor (1-of-4 from beyond the 3-point line) and 3-of-4 shooting from the charity stripe, while also pulling down five rebounds, stealing two shots, blocking one and swiping a steal.

Will Bronny James Play Again?

The 20-year-old point guard out of USC, selected with the No. 55 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft this past June, nabbed a rebound but posted a discouraging -5 plus-minus during his 2:41 of game action during the Lakers' 110-103 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday. Otherwise, he missed his two field goal attempts and finished with no points. The Lakers would surely like to get him on the board, but he doesn't seem likely to be used as an actual rotation player at this phase of his pro career.

Should the Lakers or Suns approach blowout terrain, however, it's at least possible Bronny James will get a second appearance. He's scheduled to head to L.A.'s G League squad, the South Bay Lakers, after Los Angeles' upcoming road trip. Until then, he's at least going to be with the team. Because this game seems unlikely to get that out of hand, our guess here officially is that Bronny James will ride pine all night.

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