Lakers Beat Suns 101-73, Clinch Home Court in 1st Round, LeBron Drops 28/6/12

The Lakers had another excellent night on the floor Friday, beating the Phoenix Suns 101-73 behind 28/6/12 from LeBron James, who also added four steals. Luke Kennard added 19, but the Lakers didn't need much offensively to get past a skeleton version of their Pacific Division rivals. 

The big benefit here isn't just more confidence, but a guarantee to open the first round on their home floor. The Lakers won't be any worse than a four-seed since Houston lost at home to Minnesota. They could finish third with a win Sunday vs. Utah plus a Denver loss, but given where they are it probably doesn't make much of a difference. either way they draw a very solid opponent, and would then play one of the elites of the West in Round 2 if they pulled an upset. 

So JJ Redick can decide who plays and how much on Sunday. On the one hand, the reps could be valuable for a team that obviously has to play some combos right now that haven't had a lot of floor time. Marcus Smart, who came off the bench Friday, could use a few more reps. But the flip side is that should anyone they need get dinged up, it would be enormously problematic. 

Good work to bounce back from tough results vs. Dallas and OKC to win two straight. 

 

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky 

 

SEGMENT 1: Lakers roll, LeBron thrives. 

 

SEGMENT 2: Lakers clinch home court. 

 

SEGMENT 3: JJ reflects. 

 

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