Suns-Lakers: 5 points as Anthony Davis helps erase 22-point deficit

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LOS ANGELES – The two most common words spoken during the first week of every NBA season – it’s early – bear repeating here, if only for context:

The Lakers seem to be a decent enough team.

Through two games, they’ve taken on some expected Western Conference contenders and done more than hold their own; they dominated during bouts and closed the deal.

Beating the Suns on Friday night followed an opening win over the Timberwolves, and the undefeated Lakers are feeling playful and good about themselves. And perhaps for good reason.

Anthony Davis is healthy and beastly, LeBron James here in his 22nd season once again shows no signs of deep aging, and few flaws emerge.

Early at 10 p.m., Los Angeles stormed back to beat Phoenix 123-116 and improved to 2-0 to open a season for the first time since 2010-11. Here are five takeaways from a feel-good win that puts the Lakers at the top of the West (at least for now; it’s early):

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1. Redick might be up for the job

He arrived with a coaching resume lighter than that of the supermodels strutting around the Crypto.com Arena and yet, based purely on how the Lakers perform in his system, JJ Redick looks, shall we say, experienced?

There is noticeable chemistry and cohesion among the Lakers, especially offensively. The ball is shared and the scoring is balanced. The supporting players around LeBron and AD seem confident and purposeful.

“The other day we played his game plan down to the last detail and trusted his defensive plans. Tonight was a different kind of game,” Davis said. “When we are 22, the confidence really has to start, the coaching has to start. J comes at half time and says to us: ‘We are doing well, we are going to relax, we know what we did wrong. doing.’

“If he doesn’t panic, we don’t panic and we can take them down and ultimately take the lead. We trust what he does.”

Austin Reaves beat Devin Booker, taking him off the dribble and hitting shots from deep (5-for-7) to score 26 points. Rui Hachimura had moments for the second match in a row. And the sofa produced.

Of Reaves, Redick said, “I knew he was a good player before I took this job. I didn’t know he was that good.”

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2. Davis looks unstoppable again

For the second straight game, Davis was the powerhouse offensively, scoring 35 points against the Suns after opening the season with 36.

Aggressive and powerful, Davis is option A and it’s a role both he and the Lakers embrace.

“The positions where I get the ball are effective,” he said. “And when my teammates play well, it opens up the floor and opportunities for me.”

He also exploited the Suns’ most glaring weakness: their lack of quality size. Jusuf Nurkic had four turnovers, four fouls and one basket against Davis and was benched in the fourth quarter. The Suns were forced to use Kevin Durant, who rarely guards centers, on Davis instead.

The blueprint for this Laker season is being revealed and Davis has named the main event.

“He has a comfort level and a confidence level in that if the game starts to get weird, the ball comes back to him,” Redick said.

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3. Suns and defense are still developing

Mike Budenholzer coaches the Suns as the club continued to slump defensively under Frank Vogel last season.

Well, the Suns can change coaches, but until they find better defenders or develop a better defensive mentality, that side of the field could still be problematic.

They gave up 71 points in the second half to the Lakers and a team with certified scorers like Durant, Booker and Beal couldn’t keep up with that pace.

If the shots don’t fall for the Suns, they will be vulnerable until further notice. They started the game with blistering shooting, going 11-for-14 from deep. But when they cooled off and went 6-for-26, their defense couldn’t save them.

This could ultimately determine their fate in the fraught West. They were swept in the first round by the Timberwolves last spring as they struggled to score. And if the Suns get caught up in a defensive battle, that’s likely to be a problem.

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4. LA, the sports epicenter

The biggest cheer of the night came when the Suns hit a three-pointer in the third quarter. The reaction was of course not for the shot. It was at that precise moment when Freddie Freeman hit a walk-off grand slam for the Dodgers in Game 1 of the World Series.

Friday was a surreal evening in LA, full of sporting events. There were Lakers-Suns, the World Series, USC-Rutgers, a few big high school football games and also a concert at Intuit Dome.

As a result, it was traffic armageddon, even by LA standards. Not only did most events start within about an hour of each other, they also ended within that time. So a snarl.

Or: this was good preparation for what will happen at the 2028 Olympic Games.

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5. For now, there are two Jameses left on the roster

When the Lakers schedule was announced, it fell into place for Bronny James almost as neatly as the Draft. That’s because the road game in Cleveland would be early enough in the season (Wednesday, actually) to warrant playing in his other “hometown.”

So it’s very likely that after this upcoming six-game road trip and that stop in Cleveland, Bronny will likely be sent to the G League’s South Bay Lakers to develop.

This isn’t all that unusual for a 55th pick to open the season in the NBA, get a taste of that life and then spend most if not all of the rest of the season in the minors.

After playing three minutes in the season opener, Bronny earned a DNP against the Suns. Moving to the G League is where the real drama begins, as that level is full of starving dreamers who don’t have the options Bronny is blessed with if basketball doesn’t work out.

If Bronny doesn’t stand out in the G League — and remember, he struggled in the NBA Summer League — will the Lakers bring him back?

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Shaun Powell has covered the NBA for more than 25 years. You can email him herefind his archive here And follow him on X.

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