The Suns are coming into this game with a 12-8 record this season but they have not been playing well in their recent games. They are coming off of a win in their last game against the Grizzlies who are one of the worst teams in the NBA and they have still lost 2 of their last 3 games. They have won 6 of their last 7 games on the road but they have not really been challenged in those games except in their 1 win against the Knicks which they won by 3 points. Their other wins in that span all came against some of the worst teams in the NBA this season as they beat the Pistons, Bulls, Jazz, Grizzlies and even have a loss to the Raptors. They are going up against a Lakers team that is 12-9 this season and they have been playing well recently, winning 2 of their last 3 as well as 3 of their last 5 games. The Lakers have also been much better at home all season as they are 8-2 there and have won 3 of their last 4 games there as well. They have also been taking this tournament very seriously as they went 4-0 in the group stage of the competition, including a road win against the Suns already. The Lakers have already beaten the Suns twice this season and they are going to get up for this quarter final game at home since this is definitely a trophy LeBron wants to add to his career before retiring. The Lakers are also going to be much healthier now with some of their bench depth returning to the lineup and they will be hungry to win this game at home where they have been so good all year and advance to the next round of this tournament. The Lakers will cover the spread in this game.