The Lakers’ problems aren’t exactly resolved after Tuesday’s 109-102 Game 2 win over the Suns. But now heading back to Los Angeles tied at one game apiece, it’s become a lot easier to envision LeBron James and Co. finding their groove in a run to the 2021 Finals. Even if this isn’t the juggernaut many expected entering the year, it’s hard to identify any true favorite outside of the purple and gold.
There will be no round-one cakewalk. There won’t be a Lakers funeral in a few days, either.
The series’s first two games in Phoenix did reveal some troubling signs for the Lakers.