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Things You Already Know:
Nearing the midway point of the season, the Suns currently own one of the best records in the Western Conference at 26-12, just a half game behind the Lakers.
The Lakers have defeated the Suns twice this season already, once in Phoenix and the other at STAPLES Center three weeks ago. In their first meeting, the Lakers trounced the Suns 119-98 behind the superior bench play of Vladimir Radmanovic (19 points) 
and Andrew Bynum (14 points, 11 rebounds). In the teams’ encore battle, the Lakers won 122-115, with Bynum capturing national attention for his head-turning 28 points and 16 rebounds—both career highs for the center at the time.
The Suns high-octane offense has five players who average at least 16 points a night, led by Amare Stoudemire’s 22 per game, followed by Leandro Barbosa/Steve Nash’s 17 and 16 each for Shawn Marion and Grant Hill. However, anyone who’s ever played the Suns knows that it is Steve Nash’s 12 assists that really head Phoenix’s attack.
Things You Might Not Know:
The Suns are first in the NBA in scoring, averaging more than 110 points a night, but are one of the worst teams in the league in rebounding with just over 41 a game—22nd in the NBA. Meanwhile, the Lakers’ 45 rebounds a night are good enough for third in the league, behind only Denver and Seattle. Whereas the Suns used to run opponents off the court, it looks like the rest of the league—including the Lakers—are finally catching up and in some cases, even surpassing their vaunted run-and-gun style.
The Suns run at the fourth quickest pace in the league, just slightly ahead of the Lakers, who are fifth. While Phoenix’s offensive efficiency is still tops in the league, their defensive efficiency is 21st in the league, while the Lakers are seventh.
Although the Suns have won seven of their last 10 games following Tuesday night’s loss to the Clippers, they have struggled mightily against the top 9 teams in the Western Conference, compiling a subpar 4-8 record against the likes of the Lakers, Mavericks, Spurs, Hornets, Blazers, Nuggets, Warriors, Jazz and Rockets.
Things You Need To Know:
The Lakers have a chance to take the season series Thursday night following victories on Christmas Day and in Phoenix’s home opener earlier this season. Although the Lakers’ road to the best record in the Western Conference just became much more difficult with this week’s injury news, should L.A. defy the odds and continue to win at a .700 rate, securing home court advantage over the Suns could prove invaluable later in the year.
With Andrew Bynum out for at least eight weeks with a knee injury, the Lakers will be missing one of their best weapons against Phoenix. Bynum single-handedly demoralized the Suns on Christmas Day, hammering home a series of highlight reel dunks over an undersized Phoenix squad. Moreover, he completely took the Sun’s most important big man—Amare Stoudemire—out of the game. To say he will be missed in Thursday night’s game is an understatement.
