Los Angeles Lakers: 3 Keys to beating the Phoenix Suns in Game 34
By Ethan Temkin
3.) Attack the rim
One thing the Suns are severely lacking in is a lack of rim protection, even with former No. 1 overall pick Deandre Ayton making his return from an ankle injury. Per CleaningtheGlass, the Suns allow the 3rd most shot attempts at the rim which means good news for a Lakers team that ranks 2nd in shot attempts from that same location.
Aron Baynes is the team’s most capable defensive big, but isn’t equipped to play stater level minutes, and so as a result, the team will be leaning heavily on Ayton to hold the fort down low. The Suns also have Frank Kaminsky, but he’s more of a floor stretcher than a rim protector, so he really can’t be expected to make any kind of positive impact on the defensive end.
The Laker bigs dominated the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday night, combining for 49 points on 19-of-25 shooting from the field and five blocks to go with it, so they should have no problem continuing that excellence against the Suns.