Lakers vs. Suns Preview and Game Thread: Must win back-to-back games

The Lakers need to get back on track by winning their next set of games, starting with the Suns on Sunday.

After a rather forgettable road trip that saw them lose four straight games, the Lakers are back home, where the Phoenix Suns will greet them on Sunday.

This is the first of back-to-back games for Los Angeles and the fifth match in 10 nights. L.A. looks to clinch the season series over Phoenix with a win.

Start time and TV schedule

Who: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Phoenix Suns

When: 12:30 PST, Mar 16

Where: Crypto.com Arena

Watch: ABC

The Lakers haven’t won a game in a week and believe it or not, it’s something that hasn’t happened this season.

Fortunately for them, this four-game losing streak hasn’t affected them so much because they’ve built up enough of a margin for error throughout the last five months.

L.A. can easily still bounce back, but that has to happen right now.

With the lifeless Suns visiting the Lakers on Sunday, Los Angeles has to do everything they can to pounce on them. It’s the perfect opportunity to snap their losing streak and return to the winning column. Phoenix has lost six out of their last 10 and are pretty much just sleepwalking to the end of the season.

What has led the Suns to this position, in my opinion, is their horrendous team defense. There’s a reason why they have a bottom-three defense in the league, and that starts with the fact that they don’t have rim protection and point-of-attack defenders, thus making it extremely easy for opponents to score on them.

Hopefully, Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves will lead the way offensively on Sunday. It would also be nice if the whole team showed up again like they did last Friday when they took the Denver Nuggets down the wire and almost upset them.

Some more good news for the Lakers is that there’s a decent chance they get starting center Jaxson Hayes back in this one, which should provide an additional boost.

As long as L.A. makes sure that Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal don’t pop off, they should be okay in this one.

The Lakers should also approach this game with the eagerness to end their losing streak because the last thing they want right now is to continue dropping winnable games. It’s time to get back on track and take care of business.

Let’s see if the Lakers can do just that against the Suns on Sunday.

Notes and Updates

• It’s an early game on Sunday, with tip-off at 12:30 noon. Be sure not to miss it!
• For the Lakers’ injury report, Luka Dončić (right ankle sprain), Jaxson Hayes (right knee contusion) and Dalton Knecht (back soreness) are all noted as probable.
• Gabe Vincent (left knee injury management) and Dorian Finney-Smith (left ankle injury) are all considered questionable. Meanwhile, Rui Hachimura (left patellar tendinopathy), Maxi Kleber (right foot surgery) and LeBron James (left groin strain) are out.
• As for the Suns, Grayson Allen (left foot strain) and Monte Morris (lower back injury management) are out. Nick Richards (right ankle sprain) is probable.
• We will be live on Playback for this game, so be sure to join us!

You can follow Nicole on Twitter at @nicoleganglani.