The Los Angeles Lakers lost their regular season opener on Tuesday at the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets, and they will look to get their first win of the 2023-24 campaign on Thursday when they host the Phoenix Suns.
It will be a marquee matchup, as LeBron James will go head-to-head against Kevin Durant in a regular season game for the first time since Christmas Day 2018.
Over the last several months, the Suns have assembled a collection of stars by making multiple trades. Durant arrived in February, and over the summer, they traded for three-time All-Star guard Bradley Beal. Both will join Devin Booker, who is also a three-time All-Star.
However, neither Beal nor Booker will play on Thursday against the Purple and Gold.
Bradley Beal (lower back tightness) and Devin Booker (foot) are both out against the Lakers tonight, the Suns say.
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) October 26, 2023
With Phoenix shorthanded, this will be an excellent opportunity for the Lakers to not only win but to win by a wide margin and start to prove that they could end up winning the world title this season.
