Two Western Conference teams that begin the season with championship aspirations will test each other for the fourth time this season. So far, the Los Angeles Lakers are up 3-0 on the Phoenix Suns in head-to-head matchups. Will the Suns leave crypto.com Arena with a win on Thursday night after losing the first two trips of the season? At 10:00 p.m. EDT, a national audience can watch them try.

Phoenix Still Flailing

The good news for the Suns is that Damion Lee is their only injury right now. Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal all played in their last two games. The bad news is that both contests ended with losses, the latest by 27 in the same building that is greeting them on Thursday. The 111 points they scored was an underwhelming amount for a team that’s 11th in offensive rating. That’s without factoring in the star power present. The Suns average the fourth-most trips to the free throw line per game and have the fifth-best percentage. They’re seventh in offensive rebounding percentage. Phoenix is also seventh in true shooting percentage. A turnover percentage that’s ranked 25th is troubling, and the club takes the second-highest percentage of midrange shot attempts. Still, scoring is supposed to pave the way for Phoenix. Against the Lakers, they’ve only averaged 105.7 points per game.

Then, there’s the defense, which is 16th in defensive rating. They struggle to force turnovers, ranking 24th in turnover percentage defensively. The team is 23rd in defensive rebounding percentage. They force a lower shooting percentage on midrange attempts than any other team. Overall, the Suns are solid at forcing misses from any spot on the floor. They’ve given up more than 120 points in three of their past four games, but the Suns have had plenty of better days defensively.

Lakers Escape With a Win

Plenty of controversy surrounding free throws followed Los Angeles’ latest game. Regardless, the Lakers won their second straight as they try to get over their post-In Season Tournament slump. Their success on Tuesday came despite a rare dud by the defense. Los Angeles is 12th in defensive rating, yet allowed 131 points in that game. It’s a good thing that they’ve succeeded against the Suns before. The Lakers are second in defensive rebounding percentage. They force the fifth-lowest shooting percentage on midrange shots and the third-fewest percentage of shot attempts at the rim. The Lakers allow the second-fewest free throw attempts per game, which apparently drives coaches crazy. Forcing turnovers and missed three-pointers is an issue, but Los Angeles is tough defensively.

The offense is carried by LeBron James and Anthony Davis yet only ranks 23rd in offensive rating. Against Phoenix, this team is putting up 109.3 points per game this season. Los Angeles is 28th in offensive rebounding percentage, 24th in three-point percentage, and 21st in free throw percentage. However, they’re ninth in true shooting percentage because they’re second in percentage of shots at the rim and eighth in rim efficiency. The Lakers are also eighth in free throw attempts per game. The foundation is there, but Los Angeles has not put things together offensively yet.