Phoenix Suns vs Los Angeles Lakers Prediction, 4/7/2023 Preview and Pick

Game: Phoenix Suns vs Los Angeles Lakers

Date: Friday, April 7, 2023

Location: Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, CA

TV: Spectrum Sportsnet

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

The Suns took the court against the Spurs and walked away with a win by a score of 115-94 in their last game. In regard to fouls, the Suns ended up finishing with 12 while the Spurs recorded 16 fouls. They also buried 13 out of their 40 attempts from distance. San Antonio shot 78.6% at the charity stripe by converting 11 of 14 tries. In addition, San Antonio grabbed 38 boards (9 offensive, 29 defensive) and had 7 rejections. San Antonio earned 25 assists and had 7 steals for the contest. Concerning defending, Phoenix allowed the other team to shoot 38.9% from the field on 35 out of 90 shooting. They also doled out 25 assists for this contest while forcing the other team into 12 turnovers and having 7 steals. In the matter of grabbing rebounds, they compiled 57 with 15 of them being on the offensive end. At the charity stripe, the Suns made 19 of their 26 shots for a rate of 73.1%. Phoenix finished the contest having earned a 48.3% FG percentage (43 of 89) and converted 10 of 33 shots from beyond the arc.

Devin Booker is one guy who was a factor in this matchup. Booker finished the game shooting 42.9% from the floor and recorded 3 assists. He played 33 minutes played and also collected 7 boards. He accumulated 27 points on 9 of 21 shooting.

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Phoenix comes into this matchup with a win-loss mark of 44-35 for the campaign. They average 113.7 points per game (17th in basketball) on 46.8% from the field. The Suns are shooting 37.5% on three-point attempts (961 of 2,565) and 79.3% from the free throw line. As a unit, Phoenix is grabbing 44.3 rebounds per game and has accounted for 2,157 dimes for the year, which has them ranked 4th in the league in terms of passing the rock. They are losing possession via turnover 13.7 times per contest and as a group they are committing 21.4 personal fouls per contest.

Defensively, the Suns are able to force 14.5 turnovers per contest while drawing 20.0 fouls. They give up 35.6% on shots from distance and they rank 5th in the league in PPG allowed (111.3). The Suns are giving up a field goal percentage of 46.4% (3,142 of 6,769) and they surrender 42.7 boards per contest as a basketball team. They currently rank 2nd in the league in giving up assists to their opponents with 1,844 relinquished on the campaign.

When they last stepped on the court, the Lakers took a defeat with a final score of 125-118 when they played the Clippers. When talking about cleaning up the glass, Los Angeles allowed Los Angeles to grab 38 in all (5 offensive). They finished 44.4% from 3-point land by hitting 16 of 36 and walked away from this one shooting 23 of 27 from the free throw line (85.2%). The Lakers permitted the Clippers to make 43 of 82 tries from the floor which had them sitting at 52.4% in this game. When the final whistle was blown, the Lakers finished the game shooting 45 out of 89 from the floor which had them sitting at 50.6%. Pertaining to three-point shots, Los Angeles converted 12 of 29 attempts (41.4%). They were able to knock down 16 of the free throws for a clip of 66.7%. The Clippers had 18 fouls for this game which took the Lakers to the charity stripe for a total of 24 attempts. They also gave up possession 14 times, while recording 4 steals for the game. The Lakers were able to pull down 34 defensive boards and 10 offensive rebounds for a total of 44 in the game.

LeBron James ended up being a major contributor for the Lakers for the contest. James totaled 33 points in his 35 mins on the court and tallied 7 dimes in this matchup. He converted 13 out of 20 in this contest for a field goal percentage of 65.0%, and accumulated 8 rebounds.

Los Angeles has a record of 41-39 so far this season. The Lakers are responsible for committing 18.1 fouls per contest and they go 77.5% from the free throw line. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 25.2 times per game (15th in the league) and they lose possession via turnover 14.1 times per game. Los Angeles has accounted for 9,359 points this season (117.0 per contest) and they average 45.6 boards per game. As an offensive team, the Lakers are hitting on 48.2% from the floor, which ranks them 10th in the league.

The Los Angeles defense surrenders 34.6% on shots from beyond the perimeter (1,009 of 2,920) and opponents are making 77.2% of their free throw attempts. They have allowed 25.6 assists and 44.8 boards every game, which is ranked 15th and 25th in the NBA. The Lakers on defense are ranked 21st in the league in PPG given up with 116.7. They are forcing 12.7 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 46.9% from the floor (8th in the league).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Phoenix

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