The Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers are set to meet on Friday, October 3, 2025, in the preseason opener. The game will be played at Acrisure Arena in Palm Desert, California, beginning at 7:00 p.m. Pacific Time. Broadcast coverage is slated for NBA TV and regional networks such as Spectrum SportsNet for the Lakers. This match functions largely as a warm-up, giving both teams a chance to test rotations, assess depth, and shake off rust before the regular season.
Neither team will be at full strength. For Los Angeles, LeBron James, Marcus Smart, Maxi Kleber, and Adou Thiero have all been ruled out for this game. LeBron is dealing with nerve irritation in his glute region; Smart is managing Achilles tendinopathy; Kleber tweaked his quad (though MRI showed no structural damage); and Thiero is contending with lingering knee swelling. Because of these absences, the Lakers will lean heavily on their role players and bench depth.
On the Suns’ side, Jalen Green and Mark Williams are unavailable. Green is absent due to a low-grade hamstring strain; Williams is being managed carefully as he returns to full strength. Without them, expect more minutes for reserves like Collin Gillespie, Royce O’Neale, Nick Richards, and Jared Butler to fill in.
Given the nature of preseason, both coaches are unlikely to deploy full regular-season game plans; instead, they’ll emphasize experimentation, player conditioning, and assessing bench rotations. Lakers head coach JJ Redick has noted the importance of managing minutes and treating this as a “dress rehearsal” before the regular season. He’s expected to be cautious with his stars, micropacing their workloads.
For Phoenix, their new system under coaching direction is expected to emphasize ball movement, off-ball cutting, and collective effort on defense — even more so in this kind of lower-stakes contest. Phoenix Suns may also use this opening game to test various lineups, especially deeper ones, to see which combinations show chemistry.
Media narratives heading into the matchup emphasize that this won’t be a “star showcase,” but rather a depth and development test, given the number of absences on both sides. Several reports highlight how the absence of LeBron and Green in particular will shift the spotlight onto supporting cast and younger players. Some outlets caution that the box score may not tell much about either team’s true capability — preseason results are volatile and variable.
Additionally, pregame commentary has flagged Phoenix’s potential to showcase its depth and cohesion even without two starters, while for Los Angeles Lakers the narrative centers on how quickly their non-stars can respond and whether the coaching staff can glean insights into rotation balance.
In studio segments, analysts are expected to lean heavily into “what to watch” themes: which bench players step up, how effective the alternative lineups are, and whether either team gives hints of a preferred rotation. Some analysts will examine the injury management decisions, questioning whether holding out stars now is wise or whether more preseason minutes would help their rhythm. Others will compare the broader strategic philosophies, predicting that Phoenix’s emphasis on movement and defense might test a Lakers squad working through chemistry issues without its main pieces.
Expect debate around whether this game will meaningfully foreshadow the season or instead be meaningless — many in the studio will temper expectations and warn viewers against overinterpreting the outcome. Given the context, analysts may also highlight individual “storylines” (young players, new signings) rather than focusing on team dominance.
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