Game preview: The Suns open the preseason against the Lakers in Palm Desert

What: Phoenix Suns (0:0) vs. Los Angeles Lakers (0:1)

When: 6:30 p.m. AZ time

Where: Palm Desert – Acrisure Arena

Regard: Suns Live, AZ Family 3TV, AZ Family Sports

Hear: KMVP 98.7FM

Oh man… you know things are getting serious when there are game previews. Phoenix Suns basketball is officially back! They will open the preseason against the Los Angeles Lakers in Palm Springs, California.

The squad seems to be locked in the camp and we have seen all the footage and quotes full of optimism. Now is the time to take action and put everything into action.

Each team has a new head coach but retained its stars. The Lakers didn't have the busiest offseason (outside of the draft), while the Suns remodeled their bench and addressed the point guard issue.

The Lakers expect both LeBron James and Anthony Davis to play after not playing in Friday's preseason opener against Minnesota.

The Lakers lost 124-107 in their opener on Friday evening in Palm Springs. They will play the Suns in the same building tonight. Austin Reaves and Dalton Knecht led the Lakers with 16 points each. Bronny James scored two points in 16 minutes in his NBA debut.

With Jusuf Nurkic out, the Suns' middle rotation will rely heavily on Mason Plumlee, Oso Ighodaro and Frank Kaminsky as backups.

Planned lineups

Injury report

The first major injury in Suns camp occurred yesterday, as Jusuf Nurkic will be re-evaluated in a week due to a finger injury. We will keep you updated on any short-term additions/removals to this list.

Phoenix

• Jusuf Nurkic – OUT (finger)

Los Angeles

• Jarred Vanderbilt – OUT (foot)
• Jordan Goodwin – QUESTIONABLE (Thigh)
• Cam Reddish – QUESTIONABLE (unknown)
• Christian Koloko – OUT (illness)

What you should pay attention to

First look

How well is the team clicking? With a new head coach, it's a blank slate for this team. So “what to keep an eye on” could simply be described as… everything.

The same goes for the Lakers with new head coach JJ Redick at the helm, even though they already played their first preseason game on Friday evening against Minnesota.

With Nurkic out, the Suns' new starting five won't be able to play with each other yet, but the “big four” of Jones, Beal, Booker and Durant will get a chance to play with each other.

Photo by Barry Gossage/NBAE via Getty Images

Three-point attempts and speed

It's the topic we've been hearing about from Suns staff, media and fans throughout the offseason. Let's hope this first game serves as a preview that lives up to all the talk about the fast pace and (much) quicker introduction of three-pointers than a season ago.

Phoenix has two middle-class fans in Devin Booker and Kevin Durant. So expect them to continue doing what they do best. However, we need to see these two join the party and let it fly more often.

Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images

I'm looking forward to Tyus Jones taking over. You can expect the starters to get limited minutes in the opening game, as these early preseason games usually serve as preparation. That leads me to my next point about the players who will likely get the opportunity to prove themselves. The young people.

Watch for young people

The rookies will get minutes this preseason. Ryan Dunn, Jalen Bridges and Oso Ighodaro were all called up in Summer League, but now the situation is a little more meaningful.

TyTy Washington, Collin Gillespie, Mamadi Diakite and Moses Wood will likely all get their chance. The Suns haven't had a group like this on their preseason roster in a long time. It's a nice change to take a few flyers on the back end of the roster and use the two-way spots along with the G League to develop talent.

The Lakers also have some young talent, including their lottery pick Dalton Knecht, who scored 16 points in his preseason debut. Of course, Bronny James will continue to be passionate about who he is whenever he comes into play, especially in California.

Key to a Suns win

How long do the starters play? Which bench mob plays better?

As long as the Suns second unit shows up, I think they have better depth. It depends on who values ​​being open more. The Lakers have the advantage of already having a game under their belt.

forecast

It's preseason, who knows. But really, I give the Suns the edge here.

Phoenix wins 118-113