The Lakers are 0-3 and will be without suspended point guard Rajon Rondo and small forward Brandon Ingram when they play the Suns on the road. I like the Lakers a lot here and because the spread is so short, I can back the Lakers on the money line.

Phoenix is an improving team with some young, promising talent. But they are not nearly in the Lakers' class now that LA has LeBron James. The Lakers opened against the Trail Blazers on the road, the Rockets and Spurs, who they lost to in overtime on Monday. Now the Lakers finally get a lottery team opponent.

Look for James and the Lakers to play with a great deal of urgency and desperation now, something they may not have done against the lowly Suns if not for their winless record. The Suns went up against the best team in basketball in their last game and were whipped 123-103 on the road by the Warriors Monday night. The Lakers aren't 20 points better than the Suns like the Warriors are, but they are still much superior to Phoenix even minus Rondo and Ingram.

The Lakers are a deep team. James not only makes the Lakers a playoff team, but a team that could win several playoff series. James and Lonzo Ball can handle the point guard duties. Lance Stephenson and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope are a pair of solid pros who can step up when called upon mitigating the loss of Ingram.