Phoenix Suns vs Los Angeles Lakers Prediction, 5/9/2021 NBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Phoenix Suns vs Los Angeles Lakers

Date: Sunday, May 9, 2021

Location: STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, CA

TV: Spectrum Sportsnet

The Los Angeles Lakers (37-29) host the Phoenix Suns (47-19) at STAPLES Center on Sunday.

The Phoenix Suns faced the Atlanta Hawks and ended up losing by a score of 135-103 in their last game. Phoenix ended with a 41.8% field goal percentage (33 of 79) and converted 12 out of their 32 3-point attempts. From the free throw line, the Suns buried 25 of their 29 attempts for a rate of 86.2%. In the matter of grabbing rebounds, they earned 30 with 10 of them being on the offensive end. They also recorded 19 assists in this game while forcing the opposition into 11 turnovers and earning 9 steals. When talking about the defense, Phoenix allowed their opponent to shoot 63.1% from the floor on 53 out of 84 shooting. Atlanta doled out 35 dimes and had 8 steals for the contest. In addition, Atlanta pulled down 46 rebounds (9 offensive, 37 defensive) and added 3 blocks. Atlanta finished 88.9% from the charity stripe by making 16 of 18 attempts. They also knocked down 13 out of their 26 attempts from 3-point range.

Devin Booker is one guy who had an impact for this game. He left the arena with 30 points on 11 out of 20 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 31:26 mins and grabbed 3 boards. Booker ended up going 55.0% from the field and also earned 5 dimes. Someone else that played a role in the game for the Suns was Mikal Bridges. He collected 3 rebounds in his 28:52 minutes on the hardwood. He walked away from this one shooting 66.7% from the floor in the game by hitting 6-of-9 (18 points). When the time ran out, Bridges went home without an assist.

Phoenix will play this contest with a mark of 47-19 for the year. The Suns are shooting 37.3% on shots from distance (854 of 2,287) and 82.7% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 114.6 pts per contest (9th in the league) while going 48.9% from the field. They are turning it over 12.7 times per game and as a squad are committing 19.1 fouls per game. As a team, Phoenix is grabbing 43.1 boards per game and has totaled 1,774 assists for the campaign, which ranks 7th in basketball in terms of passing. On the defensive end of the court, the Suns are able to force 13.7 turnovers per game and they draw 18.0 personal fouls. They rank 3rd in the league in allowing assists with 1,495 relinquished so far this season. The Suns are allowing a FG percentage of 46.5% (905 of 1,185) and they concede 42.9 boards per contest as a unit. They are conceding 35.6% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they rank 7th in the league in opponents points per game (108.9).

In their last game, the Los Angeles Lakers took a defeat with a final score of 118-94 against the Los Angeles Clippers. The Lakers were able to pull down 23 defensive boards and 11 offensive boards for a total of 34 in the matchup. They also coughed it up 10 times, while getting 8 steals in this matchup. The Clippers earned 25 fouls for the contest which got the Lakers to the charity stripe for a total of 29 shots. They were able to make 18 of the free throw attempts for a clip of 62.1%. Concerning shots from distance, Los Angeles knocked down 10 of 36 attempts (27.8%). In all, the Lakers went 33 out of 87 from the field which had them sitting at 37.9%. The Lakers allowed the Clippers to make 41 out of their 77 tries from the field which left them with a shooting percentage of 53.2% in this game. They finished shooting 41.9% from behind the 3-point line by connecting on 13 out of 31 and walked away from this one shooting 23 of 26 from the charity stripe (88.5%). In reference to cleaning up the glass, Los Angeles allowed Los Angeles to pull down 48 in all (9 on the offensive glass).

Kyle Kuzma was important for the Lakers for the contest. He converted 9 of 19 in this matchup for a field goal percentage of 47.4%, and had 5 rebounds. Kuzma had 25 points in his 31:09 mins of playing time and had 4 dimes in this matchup. An additional guy that was pivotal for Los Angeles was Andre Drummond. He left the arena with no assists in 22:27 minutes on the hardwood, and he shot 3 of 5 from the floor. Drummond wrapped this one up going 60.0% from the floor in addition to contributing 9 points and 6 boards.

Los Angeles has a win-loss record of 37-29 for the campaign. On the offensive side of the ball, the Lakers are connecting on 47.2% from the floor, which ranks 12th in basketball. Los Angeles has tallied 7,206 pts on the campaign (109.2 per contest) and they grab 44.2 boards per contest. They are assisting teammates 24.5 times per contest (16th in basketball) and they are losing possession via turnover 15.3 times per game. The Lakers are committing 19.2 fouls per contest while shooting 74.0% from the charity stripe. The Lakers on defense are ranked 2nd in the NBA in PPG given up with 106.6. The Los Angeles defense concedes 35.2% on three-point shots (749 of 2,130) and opponents are knocking down 77.3% of their shots from the charity stripe. They concede 24.6 dimes and 42.2 total boards per game, which ranks 15th and 6th in the league. They have forced 15.3 turnovers on a nightly basis and have let teams shoot 45.9% from the floor (8th in basketball).

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Phoenix

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