Lakers Favored to Square Series with Phoenix

After scoring just 90 points in Sunday’s series opener, Los Angeles (43-31 SU, 32-41-1 ATS) looks to bounce back when it visits the Suns (52-21, 43-28-2) for Game 2. LA has lost 14 of its last 19 games in Phoenix but opened as a 1-point road favorite for tonight’s contest.

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

Despite making the Suns 2.5-point favorites Sunday, oddsmakers opened the Lakers as 1-point road chalk for Game 2. Early bettors liked the chance to back Los Angeles in a bounce-back spot and with Chris Paul banged up for Phoenix, moving the Lakers to 2-point favorites by the time of writing.

Los Angeles News & Notes

All eyes are on Anthony Davis after LA’s star big man laid an egg Sunday in Game 1, scoring just 13 points on 5-of-16 shooting and failing to collect a single offensive rebound.

“There’s no way we’re winning a game, let alone a series, with me playing the way that I played,” Davis told the Los Angeles Times. “This is on me. I take full responsibility, for sure.”

But don’t expect the Lakers to panic in this spot. After all, LA lost its playoff opener last year to Portland before going on to win its next four games and eventually claiming the NBA championship. In fact, LeBron James’ teams have lost a series opener 20 times and still went on to win 12 of those rounds. “Guys can’t lose confidence in themselves because we missed shots,” Davis said.

Still, you have to wonder if the Lakers can just flip the switch and turn things on when they need to. Although Sunday’s loss snapped a six-game winning streak that dated back to the regular season, the Lakers are 1-5 ATS in their last six games overall and are just 2-6-1 ATS in their last nine on the road. They’re also 5-14 SU in their last 19 games at Phoenix Suns Arena.

Phoenix News & Notes

If the Suns’ lack of postseason experience is going to be a factor in this series, it didn’t show in Game 1. In its first playoff contest in 11 years, Phoenix showed plenty of poise in overcoming an early deficit, then an injury scare to Paul before pulling away and leading by as many as 16 points early in the fourth quarter.

“It’s a little different. The intensity is different. The physicality is different,” Devin Booker told the Arizona Republic after the game.

Paul missed more than four minutes of game action in the first half after hitting the floor hard and suffering what the team called a “shoulder contusion,” although it’s rumored that the veteran point guard suffered a stinger.

CP3 attempted just five shots after returning to the game, finishing with seven points. He insisted after Game 1 that he would be OK by Tuesday, but the Lakers might choose to collapse their defense off Paul early in Game 2 until they see if he’s able to shoot with the injury.

With Paul less aggressive with his shot on Sunday, Booker and Deandre Ayton shouldered much of the offensive load. Booker scored a game-high 34 points in 45 minutes, while Ayton hit 10 of his 11 field-goal attempts to finish with 21 points and 16 rebounds.

Betting Pick: Lakers -2

Look for Davis to silence his critics with a bounce-back performance and the Lakers to even the series heading back to LA.