Los Angeles Lakers vs Phoenix Suns Prediction, 12/19/2022 Preview and Pick

Game: Los Angeles Lakers vs Phoenix Suns

Date: Monday, December 19, 2022

Location: Footprint Center in Phoenix, AZ

TV: Bally Sports Arizona

The Los Angeles Lakers are hitting the road to Footprint Center on Monday where they will take on the Phoenix Suns.

The Lakers took the court against the Nuggets and earned the victory with a final of 126-108 in their last contest. Los Angeles ended the contest having earned a 52.7% field goal percentage (48 of 91) and made 12 of their 33 shots from beyond the perimeter. From the charity stripe, the Lakers buried 18 of 24 shots for a percentage of 75.0%. In reference to grabbing rebounds, they collected a total of 45 with 11 of them being on the offensive end. They also doled out 29 assists for the matchup as well as forcing the other team into 19 turnovers and getting 11 steals. Regarding defending, Los Angeles allowed the other team to shoot 48.1% from the floor on 39 out of 81 shooting. Denver recorded 25 assists and had 7 steals in the game. In addition, Denver snagged 39 rebounds (9 offensive, 30 defensive) and got 4 blocked shots. Denver finished the contest at 75.0% from the free throw line by burying 21 of their 28 shots. They also converted 9 of 27 attempts from long range. Concerning personal fouls, the Lakers ended up walking away with 21 while the Nuggets totaled 17 personal fouls.

LeBron James is one guy who played a role in this contest. He ended up walking away with 30 points on 13 of 20 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 36 mins and collected 9 rebounds. James finished the game at 65.0% from the field and distributed 4 assists.

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Los Angeles heads into this matchup with a win-loss mark of 12-16 for the year. They lose possession by turning the ball over 14.6 times per game and as a unit they are committing 18.4 fouls every game. As a team, Los Angeles is snagging 45.5 rebounds per contest and is sitting with 696 assists for the season, which is 23rd in the league in terms of passing the ball. The Lakers are connecting on 32.2% on shots from beyond the arc (273 of 848) and 79.8% from the charity stripe. They average 115.4 points per contest (9th in the league) while hitting 47.6% from the field.

Defensively, the Lakers are able to force 13.4 turnovers per game while drawing 21.5 personal fouls. They relinquish 34.3% on three-point shots and they are ranked 25th in the league in PPG allowed (116.3). The Lakers defense is allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 46.5% (1,232 of 2,647) and they relinquish 46.3 boards per game as a group. They rank 10th in the NBA in giving up assists to their opponents with 734 relinquished this season.

The last time they took the court, the Suns walked away with a victory by a final of 118-114 when they faced the Pelicans. The Suns collected 25 defensive boards and 10 offensive rebounds totaling 35 for the matchup. They also coughed it up 8 times, while getting 6 steals in this matchup. The Pelicans had 27 fouls for the game which got the Suns to the free throw line for 35 tries. They were able to make 25 of those for a percentage of 71.4%. In relation to shooting from beyond the arc, Phoenix converted 15 of their 41 attempts (36.6%). In all, the Suns walked away from this one shooting 39 for 83 from the floor which gave them a rate of 47.0%. The Suns allowed the Pelicans to convert 45 out of their 77 tries from the field which gave them a rate of 58.4% for the game. They shot 46.7% from beyond the arc by hitting 14 out of 30 and ended up shooting 10 out of 13 at the free throw line (76.9%). When talking about how they cleaned up the glass, Phoenix allowed New Orleans to pull down 36 in all (4 offensive).

Devin Booker ended up having an impact for the Suns in the game. He made 21 out of 35 in this contest giving him a rate of 60.0%, and added 6 rebounds. Booker had 58 points in his 42 mins on the hardwood and earned 5 assists in the matchup.

Phoenix has a mark of 18-12 on the year. The Suns are committing 21.3 personal fouls per game and they hit 80.1% from the free throw line. They are earning an assist 27.3 times per game (4th in basketball) and they cough up possession 13.3 times per contest. Phoenix has earned 3,461 points so far this season (115.4 per game) and they collect 43.2 rebounds per game. On the offensive side of the court, the Suns are shooting 47.0% from the floor, which is ranked 15th in basketball.

The Phoenix defense concedes 36.4% on shots from distance (334 of 918) and opponents are connecting on 80.4% of their foul shots. They have conceded 23.2 assists and 43.1 boards every game, which ranks them 5th and 10th in the NBA. The Suns on defense are ranked 8th in the NBA in PPG given up with 110.8. They have forced 16.0 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 46.9% from the field (15th in the NBA).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Phoenix

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