The Phoenix Suns will play host to the Los Angeles Lakers Sunday for their first playoff game in 11 seasons.
Despite ending the season with a better record, the Suns aren’t heavily favored to beat LA.
The Suns ended the season as the 2nd seed in the Western Conference, with the second best win-loss record in the entire NBA.
Their opponent, the defending champion Lakers, are the 7th seed in the West. They only fell in the standings after superstars Lebron James and Anthony Davis missed significant time.
Suns head coach Monty Williams says there are difficulties that come with playing an experienced opponent early on.
"The really hard part is, you’re going against the defending champs, and they’ve been there and done that," Williams said. "There’s not any situations that few of their guys haven’t been in."
Tipoff for Sunday’s Game 1 is 12:30 PM. The series is a best of seven, with the winner advancing to the Western Conference Semifinals.
