Last time the Suns played the Lakers, the Suns were on the road for the second night of a back-to-back while the Lakers rested comfortably at home. Tonight, the Suns again are playing for the second time in two nights on the road while the Lakers, once again, are at home after a day off. The Lakers had the whole day yesterday to prepare for this game while the Suns were playing the Kings and then flying to Los Angeles.
You'd think that eventually we'd have a similar advantage, but the Lakers won't have to play the Suns on a second night of a back-to-back this season, home or away.
Btw, the Lakers so far this season have played 14 home games, most in the NBA. Great way to get everyone healthy and build momentum; they couldn't have asked for a better schedule. The Suns, on the other hand, so far have played 7 games at home, fewest in the NBA. And it seems every time we have a tough game coming up, it's on the second night of a back-to-back on the road (Orlando, Lakers, Cavs, Lakers again tonight, and Nuggets next week). So far this season we are 1-3 on the tail end of a back-to-back set, with the only win coming against 76ers.