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This game was revenge for the ages. Phoenix Suns. Los Angeles Lakers. Bad blood from last year’s playoffs. Surely the game would transcend the hype!
No just kidding. It’s preseason, and the game went like that.
The Suns, minus Devin Booker, played under control and with a Chris Paul pace that reminds us, oh yeah, the Suns are a really good, maybe a great team. And deep. A fairly deep rotation. But the energy of the team and the crowd was muted, as you would expect from a 3pm preseason crowd.
The Lakers, minus LeBron James and Russell Westbrook, looked like the worst of Anthony Davis’ Pelican teams. He was a man on an island around average players who weren’t on the same page. The Lakers had so much turnover that AD literally never played much, or not at all, with any of the guys on the pitch around him.
So, to recap, the Suns looked like the best in the West, albeit a bit muted, while the Lakers looked like they weren’t ready to play a regular season game at all.
Suns was up 12 points in the first quarter, 20 in the second quarter, nearly 30 points in the third quarter, and just made the game a practice for the rest of the way.
For what it’s worth, it looks like the Suns played a regular rotation – minus Booker – for the three quarters and Jalen Smith and Abdel Nader got minutes over Elfrid Payton and Frank Kaminsky. It was without Booker. In the regular season, I doubt any of these guys play real minutes if everyone is healthy.
After increasing by 30, the Suns finished the game with Chasson Randle, Chandler Hutchison, Elfrid Payton, Frank Kaminsky and Jalen Smith. They were badly marked as a group, hence the closest final score.
Suns up to 102-74 after three quarters. Final score: 117-105.
Remarks
Jalen Smith looked better in this game than the Summer League, to me, especially during his time in the first half with players on regular rotation. He got minutes alongside JaVale McGee and basically played the clean-up role at the then-Ced Ceballos. He recovered rebounds, setbacks and eliminations to total 4 points and 5 rebounds in 6 minutes in the first half. Once again, however, he got a bit lost in a ragtag fourth quarter with all of the deep bench guys trying to prove themselves.
Cameron Payne is throwing his float game, as he and I discussed on Media Day. Now he’s going back to his mid-range float game for a change to get them guessing. I liked it.
SOLEILS LEADERS:
- Deandre Ayton – 14 points (6-12 shots), 11 rebounds, 1 block in 22 minutes (+16) playing mostly with Anthony Davis
- Mikal Bridges – 15 points (7-18 shooting), 6 rebounds, 1 block in 25 minutes (+23)
- Chris Paul – 8 points, 11 assists, 1 interception in 22 minutes (+11)
LAKER LEADERS:
- Anthony Davis – 14 points (5-14 shots), 8 rebounds, 2 blocks in 25 minutes (-10) – most of AD’s actual scores were against players other than Ayton, after changes
- Malik Moine – 13 points (5/7, 3/4)
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