The Los Angeles Lakers (3-5) will have their first in-season tournament outing on Friday, as they clash with the Phoenix Suns (4-4) for the second time this season.
Does LeBron James have something special stored for his first outing in the NBA’s new competition? Bookmaker Pinnacle offers odds at +107 for him to score over 25.5 points. Meanwhile, the odds are at +106 for LeBron to post over 40.5 in the points+rebounds+assists category.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: November 10th, 9:30 A.M. (EST)
In addition to hoping to start the in-season tournament with a victory, the Lakers will also look to register their first road win of the season. James & Co. have opened the season with three consecutive home wins but have looked like a completely different team on the road.
The team as a whole has failed to hit its standards away from home, but James has played well throughout the start-of-the-season run, averaging 24.4 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 5.4 assists with 1.4 steals and 1.0 blocks in his 21st campaign in the league. He even has a slightly better field goal percentage in road outings, although LeBron has averaged one point fewer on the road compared to home games.
James’ role on the team looks set to grow as well following Anthony Davis’ latest injury blow. He is questionable for Friday night after getting hurt Monday versus Miami. Davis has opened the campaign as the NBA’s leading shot-blocker, and he’s also been a double-double machine by averaging 23.9 points and 12.0 rebounds. Davis is a big miss for the Lakers at both ends of the floor, and it was evident in Wednesday’s 128-94 loss to the Rockets.
Phoenix, which lost this season’s first meeting with the Lakers 100-95 on Oct. 26, will be missing Devin Booker as the team’s freshly formed Big Three still awaits its first regular-season outing together. It shouldn’t take long now after Bradley Beal made his Suns debut Wednesday night versus Chicago. He was eased into action, as Beal logged only 24 minutes in an overtime win. The three-time All-Star will likely get a boost in playing time against the Lakers, with the Suns also wanting to kick off the in-season tournament with a win.
Many have been skeptical regarding the addition of the tournament, but the early signs of it being competitive and full of high-intensity games are promising. Last week, when the first round of action was played, the games were won by 4.9 points on average, which is the lowest average margin of victory on a single day in the NBA with at least seven games since 2016.
