The Los Angeles Lakers are still the defending champions
Phoenix will have their hands full not only because they are playing LeBron James and Anthony Davis, but because the Los Angeles Lakers are still the defending champions! Guys like Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Kyle Kuzma and quite honestly the MVP of this game against the Warriors, Alex Caruso, continue to elevate their play and are all defending champions.
The game Alex Caruso had against the Warriors was remarkable and both LeBron James and Anthony Davis are going to receive all of the praise, but at the end of the day, the Lakers lose this game without the contributions Alex Caruso gave them.
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Not only was he their leading scorer at halftime, as he had 12 points at the half, but on both ends of the court, Caruso was making plays all night long. His on-ball pressure on Stephen Curry forced a handful of turnovers in the second-half of this game and offensively, he made several extra passes that lead to big baskets in big moments.
The Suns are a terrific basketball team and have shown that all throughout the regular season, so to say that the Lakers should be favored to beat the Suns easily in this series is definitely a long-shot statement to make, but this is going to be a fantastic series.
It should not be surprising to see this Lakers-Suns first-round series go seven games, especially if both team’s stars can remain healthy and on the court, but at the end of the day, the Lakers imposing their will on the Warriors in the second-half of this play-in game definitely has to be concerning for other teams in the Western Conference to see, especially the Phoenix Suns.
