Los Angeles Lakers vs Phoenix Suns prediction and odds

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The Los Angeles Lakers play away to the Phoenix Suns on Thursday in search of their first win of the NBA regular season, with tipoff set for 2:00 a.m. GMT (10:00 p.m. ET).

The Lakers (0-1) are coming off a 119-107 loss to the Nuggets, and the Suns (1-0) enter the contest after defeating the Warriors 108-104.

Los Angeles Lakers vs Phoenix Suns game predictions

Contents

1 Los Angeles Lakers vs Phoenix Suns game predictions
- 1.1 Prediction 1: Anthony Davis over 22.5 points @ -111 (1.90)
- 1.2 Prediction 2: Josh Okogie over 8.5 points @ +100 (2)
2 Lakers vs Suns preview – Can Los Angeles avoid another slow start?
3 Key game details

The Lakers are 5.5-point favorites, and the total is set at 223.5 points.

Prediction 1: Anthony Davis over 22.5 points @ -111 (1.90)

These odds at Caesars are excellent thanks to other sportsbooks, such as FanDuel, listing Davis at -113 to hit over 23.5 points (a point higher), and Bet365, featuring the center at -135 (57.45% implied odds) to hit over 22.5.

Davis struggled in the Lakers’ opener against the Nuggets, going 6-of-17 from the field and finishing with 17 points. He’s in a great bounce-back situation where he’s thrived recently.

During the 2023 playoffs, the Kentucky product bounced back 6-of-6 times and eclipsed 22.5 points when scoring less than 22 points the previous outing.

In the regular season, Davis averaged 25.9 points per game and recorded 23 or more points in six of his last 10 playoff games (60%). With Lebron continuing to age and expected to play fewer minutes this year, the Lakers will lean on Davis more throughout the regular season.

Davis’ 17 points came against a stout Denver defense led by Nikola Jokic. He’ll face Jusuf Nurkic in this contest, who isn’t remotely as talented defensively. According to Betting News, Davis has averaged 24.4 points per game the 16 times he’s played against Nurkic.

Prediction 2: Josh Okogie over 8.5 points @ +100 (2)

Josh Okogie had a very productive opening game against the Warriors, scoring 17 points while shooting 7-of-9 from the field. While I don’t expect him to shoot at such a high clip again, he should see plenty of scoring opportunities, with Devin Booker doubtful for the game.

The Georgia Tech product, Okogie, played 32 minutes against the Warriors, and if Booker is out (played against Golden State), he should see a lot of action once again.

During the preseason, the 25-year-old averaged 8.75 points per game, averaging just 20 minutes per contest. When he logged 24 minutes (his highest) against Denver in the preseason, he scored 17.

Okogie is expected to start, and his line seems a little too low, especially if Booker is ruled out.

BetMGM and DraftKings have Okogie listed at +100 to hit the over, while other books, such as Bet365, have him at -105.

Update: Devin Booker and Bradley Beal are out.

These American and decimal odds were correct at the time of writing.