Lakers Schedule: Three games worth watching early on

10/20 @ Phoenix

The night after their home opener, they’ll travel to Phoenix to take on Josh Jackson and the Suns. Picked fourth overall, Jackson was a player that Los Angeles could have selected but did not because they took Lonzo Ball.

This match up is big because it’ll show us more of Ball’s game and how he compares very early on to another rookie when their teams clash. Devin Booker is a rising star who could give Ball some problems, so we’ll also see if he’s up for the challenge.

For the Lakers to win this game, though, the key is a big game from Brandon Ingram over anybody else. Phoenix has a good team, but if Ingram can explode on the second night of the season and make himself out to be the best player on the team, that’ll be huge for the rest of Lonzo Ball’s rookie campaign.

The reason for that is that it’ll give Ball a much more natural flow on offense and take the pressure off of him after a lot of hype going into the season debut. Against the Suns, tempo is crucial to the Lakers getting a victory.

Given that it’s coming right after their game with the Lakers, it’ll also point out to us how they handle the back-to-back as a unit.