Both the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns squared off against two other title hopefuls on Opening Night in the Denver Nuggets and Golden State Warriors, respectively. Now, after the Lakers lost and the Suns won, the two title contenders will square off against each other on Thursday night in the Lakers’ home opener.
It is hard to find a matchup in the NBA that has more starpower than a Lakers-Suns matchup. The quartet of LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal are among the best players in the sport. With all of that starpower, there is a chance that this is an eventual Western Conference Finals preview.
But are we actually going to see a potential NBA Playoffs preview? Or are NBA fans going to be robbed of some starpower in this matchup?
Is Devin Booker playing tonight vs the Lakers?
Update: NBA insider Shams Charania confirmed that Devin Booker and Bradley Beal are OUT vs the Lakers.
It was unclear if Devin Booker was going to play on Opening Night against the Warriors but the all-star guard ultimately suited up and led Phoenix to victory. Despite playing on Tuesday, it does not look promising for Booker on Thursday night against the Lakers.
Booker is dealing with a foot injury and is considered doubtful to suit up against the Lakers. The star point guard was not listed as doubtful ahead of the season opener, so it looks like there is less of a chance that he plays on Thursday than there was on Tuesday.
Full Suns injury report vs Lakers:
Booker is not the only Suns star that is doubtful for this matchup. After missing his Suns debut on Opening Night, Beal is also listed as doubtful to play against the Lakers. Beal is dealing with a back injury and Phoenix is in no rush to push their new star player to return.
Three-point marksman Damion Lee also won’t be suiting up in this game. Lee suffered a knee injury during the preseason and had surgery earlier in October. He is out “indefinitely”.
Full Lakers injury report vs Suns:
It is more of the same for the purple and gold on Thursday against the Suns. After missing the season opener, Jarred Vanderbilt will miss this game with a heel injury. Vanderbilt should return in the coming weeks.
Rookie Jalen Hood-Schifino is also ruled out, which was the case in the season opener as well. New signing Cam Reddish is listed as probable with right foot soreness. Reddish controversially got playing time over second-year guard Max Christie in the season opener.
LeBron James nor Anthony Davis have injury designations for Thursday’s game.