Here is what you need to know before the Lakers take on the Phoenix Suns.
1)
Kobe Bryant is back in the lineup for the first time in a week. The Lakers went 1-2 while Bryant sat out due to fatigue, playing against teams with a combined 66-24 record.
2)
After being held without a double-double in his first 28 games as a Laker, Ed Davis is now looking to record his third straight. Davis averaged 11.5 points and 12.5 rebounds during the team’s two-game road trip. The 25-year-old now has four back-to-back double-doubles in his career, but he has yet to reach three in a row.
3)
The Lakers have lost two straight against Phoenix, including six of their last seven games. Most recently, the Suns came away with a 112-106 victory in Los Angeles on Nov. 4. Bryant poured in a season-high 39 points in that contest, but L.A. shot just 39.8 percent, while Phoenix grabbed a team-high 52 rebounds.
4)
Eric Bledsoe notched his second triple-double of the season against Dallas on Tuesday with 16 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds. Bledsoe is one of only three players, along with Rajon Rondo (three) and Michael Carter-Williams (two), with multiple triple-doubles this year. Prior to this season, Phoenix had gone seven years without a single player recording a triple-double.
5)
Isaiah Thomas has been one of the league’s best fourth-quarter scorers this season. Thomas is pitching in 15.3 points per game, 6.7 of which have come in the final frame, the third-most in the NBA behind Carmelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade.
6)
Second-year center Alex Len has blocked at least one shot in a career-high nine straight games. During this streak, Len is averaging 2.6 swats and has three games of four blocks or more.
7)
Two weeks ago, the Suns had lost six straight games. However, Phoenix then changed its starting lineup (Goran Dragic, Bledsoe, P.J. Tucker, Markieff Morris, Len), and has been undefeated in five games since. The Suns are outscoring opponents by an average score of 111-102 during this stretch, while also shooting 48.5 percent from the field and blocking 6.4 shots.
8)
Despite attempting just the 24th-most foul shots (21.3), the Suns have been making the most out of their trips to the line, as they lead the league with an 80.0 free throw percentage. On the flip side, Phoenix has allowed opponents thrive at the charity stripe as well, as they are allowing the second-most free throws per game (27.3).
9)
Three-pointers have been a major part of Phoenix’s game plan. The Suns are taking (27.5) and making (10.1) the second-most 3’s in the league, and their 36.8 percent clip from deep ranks eighth. However, Phoenix has relied less on the three-ball during its win streak, in which it is averaging 7.2 triples on 21.0 attempts.
10)
Led by Thomas, the Suns bench has scored the second-most points per game in the league (43.5). Phoenix’s reserves have been especially devastating from 3-point range, where they hit the most shots (5.7) and shoot the second-best percentage (40.5) among the NBA’s bench units.