Fresh off a blowout loss against the Houston Rockets, the Los Angeles Lakers are back in action against the Phoenix Suns in Phoenix, Arizona. The Lakers will be shorthanded once again after losing rookie Julius Randle last night to a fractured leg.

These two teams met during the preseason, and that game went to overtime with the Suns winning. In that game, the Suns bench, led by Isaiah Thomas and Gerald Green, dominated the Lakers. With a very thin bench and not much scoring, the Lakers may have trouble keeping up with Phoenix’s bench in this one.

Xavier Henry, who made his return last night but struggled, will be the X-factor off the bench in this one. He played well for the Lakers last season and will have to play with the aggression he had last year. The Lakers will need a huge production from him.

Being on the road in a second of a back to back will make it even tougher for the Lakers. The good thing is that Kobe Bryant and the rest of the starters did not play much in the second half since the game turned into a blowout.

In this game, the Lakers will definitely have to be clean. They have to limit turnovers in order to control the pace. They cannot have giveaways, or else the Suns are going to hurt them in transition. Another key for the Lakers would be to keep the Suns point guards in check. The Lakers usually have issues defending point guards. They will have to keep Thomas, Eric Bledsoe, and Goran Dragic out of the driving lanes.

In last night’s game, outside of Kobe, the Lakers could not find any scoring. They will need other guys to step up in this game, mainly Jeremy Lin and Carlos Boozer. Lin struggled with his shot and turnovers against the Rockets, but cannot let it happen in this game.

The Suns will look to do damage from beyond the arc using dribble penetration. The Lakers will have to run out to the shooters and make them put the ball on the floor and trust the help defense behind them.

After getting hammered on opening night on their home floor by Dwight Howard and company, the Lakers will have to come out with a better sense of urgency in this game.

The Suns will be without P.J. Tucker as he is serving a three game suspension. Marcus Morris may receive the starting role in his place along with Goran Dragic, Eric Bledsoe, Markieff Morris, and Miles Plumlee.

The Lakers are expected to come back with the same starters of Jeremy Lin, Kobe Bryant, Wesley Johnson, Carlos Boozer, and Jordan Hill.