Lakers vs. Suns Game 2 is tonight at 10PM ET. Here’s the OC Register on the Lakers:
There’s an assumption that the Lakers have the proverbial “on” switch that they can flip at any time. The driver of this assumption is LeBron James, who has played 15 first-round series before this one and has not lost any of them. He’s looked wobbly before, most memorably going to seven first-round games against Indiana in 2018 with a Cavaliers team that was on shaky ground for much of the back half of the season. But if you’re betting on someone to advance in the playoffs, there’s nobody historically who is a better bet than James, who has made nine of the last 10 Finals.
There are other reasons to think the Lakers know how to respond, too. Anthony Davis tied his lowest-ever scoring output in a playoff game in the opener against the Suns, with just 13 points. The only other time he’s done that was in the Game 5 Lakers’ blowout of Houston – he came back with a 37-point outing against Denver to open the Western Conference Finals. Even coach Monty Williams didn’t want to take too much credit for slowing Davis down, because as his former coach, he knows how dangerous Davis can be when a handful of those jumpers actually are on target.
Will the No. 1 NBA defense give up 34 points to Devin Booker again? They don’t think so. A fully intact coaching staff from last season that didn’t lose two playoff games in a row last postseason? It’s a good bet there are some adjustments. There’s a ton of playoff experience up and down the Lakers roster that the Suns do not possess – that has to matter, right?
