Phoenix Suns vs Los Angeles Lakers Prediction, 3/22/2023 Preview and Pick

Game: Phoenix Suns vs Los Angeles Lakers

Date: Wednesday, March 22, 2023

Location: Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, CA

TV: Spectrum Sportsnet

Crypto.com Arena is where the Los Angeles Lakers will attempt to defeat the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday.

The Suns took the court against the Thunder and went home with a loss by a final score of 124-120 in their last contest. Phoenix finished having earned a 47.8% field goal percentage (44 out of 92) and knocked down 15 of their 36 three-point attempts. At the charity stripe, the Suns buried 17 of 24 tries for a rate of 70.8%. Pertaining to grabbing boards, they collected a total of 40 with 9 of them being on the offensive end. They also doled out 31 dimes for the matchup in addition to forcing 15 turnovers and getting 7 steals. When discussing defense, Phoenix let their opponent shoot 50.0% from the floor on 42 out of 84 shooting. Oklahoma City recorded 20 assists and had 8 steals for this game. On top of that, Oklahoma City pulled down 44 rebounds (6 offensive, 38 defensive) and got 9 blocked shots. Oklahoma City shot 80.6% from the free throw line by making 29 of 36 shots. They buried 11 out of their 28 attempts from beyond the arc. In reference to fouls, the Suns ended up finishing with 31 while the Thunder recorded 20 fouls.

Devin Booker is one player who was a major contributor in this contest. He was able to score 46 points on 18 out of 28 shooting. He played for 36 minutes and also totaled 3 boards. Booker finished 64.3% from the floor and also earned 1 assist.

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Phoenix comes into this one with a win-loss mark of 38-33 this year. They have an average of 113.4 pts per contest (19th in the NBA) while going 46.7% from the field. The Suns are shooting 37.7% on three-point shots (875 of 2,323) and 79.3% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Phoenix is grabbing 44.1 rebounds per game and is sitting with 1,928 assists for the season, which has them ranked 4th in the league in terms of passing the ball. They are turning it over 13.9 times per contest and as a squad are committing 21.4 fouls on a nightly basis.

Defensively, the Suns are forcing 14.7 turnovers per contest and they draw 20.0 fouls. They rank 2nd in the NBA in allowing assists with 1,653 relinquished for the campaign. The Suns are allowing a FG percentage of 46.6% (2,835 of 6,083) and they surrender 42.7 boards per game as a squad. They are giving up 35.9% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they are 4th in the league in opponents points per game (111.6).

When they last played, the Lakers walked away with a victory by a final of 111-105 when they faced the Magic. In relation to cleaning up the glass, Los Angeles permitted Orlando to pull down 44 in total (13 offensive). They finished 26.3% from behind the 3-point line by connecting on 10 of 38 and ended up going 13 of 17 at the free throw line (76.5%). The Lakers permitted the Magic to knock down 41 out of 102 tries from the floor which gave them a percentage of 40.2% for the matchup. Overall, the Lakers ended up shooting 36 for 78 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 46.2%. Concerning 3-point shots, Los Angeles made 13 out of their 32 attempts (40.6%). They were able to convert 26 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 81.3%. The Magic had 28 fouls for the matchup which took the Lakers to the charity stripe for a total of 32 attempts. They also gave up possession 15 times, while recording 2 steals for this game. The Lakers snagged 43 defensive rebounds and 9 offensive rebounds totaling 52 for the contest.

Austin Reaves ended up being a major contributor for the Lakers for this contest. Reaves earned 35 points in his 30 minutes on the court and accounted for 6 dimes in the game. He knocked down 9 out of 14 for the matchup for a field goal percentage of 64.3%, and earned 6 rebounds.

Los Angeles has a mark of 35-37 on the year. The Lakers are committing 18.3 fouls per contest while shooting 77.8% from the free throw line. They are earning an assist 25.1 times per game (16th in the league) and they cough up possession 14.2 times per game. Los Angeles has totaled 8,382 pts for the campaign (116.4 per game) and they snag 45.6 boards per contest. In terms of offensive execution, the Lakers are hitting on 47.8% from the floor, which is 10th in the league.

The Los Angeles defense allows 34.1% from downtown (903 of 2,647) and their opposition knocks down 76.8% of their shots from the charity stripe. They surrender 25.6 dimes and 45.4 total rebounds per game, which ranks them 15th and 28th in basketball. The Lakers on the defensive side of the court are 21st in basketball in PPG given up with 116.8. They have forced 12.7 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 46.8% from the field (8th in the NBA).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Phoenix

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