Phoenix Suns, LA Lakers playing 'main guys' into second half of preseason matchup in Palm Springs

PALM SPRINGS – Coachella Valley has always been a getaway for its numerous golf resorts, beautiful hiking trials, Southern California dining, endless shopping and much more.

Now people have another reason to visit the Greater Palm Springs area – NBA basketball.

The new 11,000-plus seat Acrisure Arena located in Palm Desert that cost $300-plus million has opened up an entirely new lane for indoor concerts and sporting events, which continues Thursday night when the Phoenix Suns play the Los Angeles Lakers in the final preseason game for both teams.

“It’s a fantastic leisure destination,” said John Page, senior vice president of Acrisure Arena. “Then adding an arena that wasn’t here really rounds out that entire experience. Instead of just having people golf during the day, tennis, pickleball, hiking and enjoying the sites, now they got a real entertainment venue. This rounds out our resume, so to speak, where we add NBA now to our portfolio.”

Thursday’s game is being dubbed as “Duel Desert” presented by Spotlight 29 Casino in Coachella.

Arena doors will open at 5:30 p.m. for the 7 p.m. tip as this is a Lakers' home game.

'In our own backyard'

“My husband grew up in Palm Springs and he’s a diehard Lakers fan,” Palm Springs City Council member Christy Holstege said. “His family has been here for 50 years. They used to go to L.A. for the Lakers games. So for all the Lakers fans in the Coachella Valley and surrounding area, it’s a really big deal to be able to see these stars in our own backyard.”

With a 300,000 square-foot arena that opened Dec. 14, 2022, expect more NBA action there in the future.

“Preseason for sure,” said Page, who is also senior VP of the Coachella Valley Firebirds, a local American Hockey League team, and OVG360 facilities.

“We’re excited to have the Lakers, one of the most recognized brands and teams in the world. It’s a huge feather in our cap to be able to have them."

'Watch us up close'

Los Angeles is two hours away from Palm Springs, but Phoenix is within driving distance as well at 5½ hours.

For those who want to go airborne, flights from both cities are less than 60 minutes.

Suns superstar Kevin Durant is expecting a partial Lakers crowd, but he loves the idea of playing in a city or area that doesn’t have an NBA team.

“It’s always cool when cities that aren’t close to NBA cities get a chance to have some NBA ball there for preseason,” a smiling Durant said. “It’s good for the fans and kids there to watch us up close.”

Looks like the fans are going to see the stars for both teams, too.

Suns coach Frank Vogel and Lakers coach Darvin Ham have said they’ll play their “main guys” into the second half. Both teams open the regular season Tuesday on the league’s opening night.

The Lakers are at defending NBA champion Denver while the Suns play at Golden State.

'Hopefully LeBron James plays'

“It’ll be a little bit of a test run for us, to see what our normal rotation looks like, that being the last preseason game," Ham said after Sunday’s preseason loss to the Bucks. "For three quarters, we’ll see what we look like and again, in between time continue to try to get better at different things.”

Page was slightly concerned about whether a certain superstar would lace them up for the Lakers.

“Hopefully LeBron James plays,” Page said Tuesday. “That’s what everybody is hoping for, but regardless, it’s going to be a fantastic event.”

He's playing.

The Suns appear set to have their Big 3 of Devin Booker, Bradley Beal and Durant play as well.

“We're going to play most of our guys,” Vogel said after Wednesday’s practice. “Try to get our main guys some second-half minutes. I don't know if we'll finish the game with them, but a little more work. Try to get them up high 20s, low 30s in terms of minutes."

'Entertainment piece'

The Suns and Lakers could rest key players, but Vogel recognizes there are fans here who may not be able to travel to Los Angeles or Phoenix to see NBA superstars like James and Durant play.

“There’s always the entertainment piece of this business,” Vogel said. “The best players, they appreciate that. So going to a Vegas or a Palm Springs or some of these off-market cities where the locals don’t always get to see NBA basketball, I think the best players like the entertainment piece of games like that.”

The “locals” will get that chance Thursday night as tickets still were available Wednesday.

“I expect there to be a very vibrant crowd for this game,” Palm Springs City Council member Lisa Middleton said. “The Lakers are dearly beloved in Southern California. Palm Springs is an iconic resort beloved by people across the globe. While not quite midway from Los Angeles and Phoenix, Palm Springs is a wonderful getaway for both regions.”

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Three-year run for Suns in Coachella Valley

The Suns played preseason games three straight years (2008-2010) at Indian Wells Tennis Garden. The outdoor facility was transformed into basketball oasis that crammed in 16,000 fans for the 2008 game between the Suns and Nuggets.

The next year, Phoenix played against the Warriors, who had this skinny rookie named Stephen Curry. The Suns closed out that three-year run against the Mavericks as the home team.

As for the Lakers, they used to have training camp there in the 1980s and returned in 1991 and 1997 for camp. Now both teams are back facing each other for the first time in Coachella Valley.

History aside, the Acrisure Arena is literally a game changer, as predicted and expected.

“From Day 1, Oakview Group had a vision for the arena to attract a wide range of events,” said Scott White, President and CEO of Visit Greater Palm Springs. “Every seat has an excellent view. There are no bad seats in the Acrisure Arena. It was designed with state-of-the-art acoustics, which has garnered praise from touring artists and fans.”

Just getting started

The Arizona Coyotes played a preseason game there on Oct. 1 against the Anaheim Ducks.

It was the first NHL game ever in Coachella Valley. Page said it was part of the season tickets package for the Firebirds and about 8,000 tickets were sold for the game.

“It went really well,” Page said. “It was really well received. The teams loved it.”

Next month, Arizona and Michigan State will battle Nov. 23 in the Acrisure Classic to begin a three-day stretch of college basketball.

The arena will then host Texas Rio Grande Valley, Hawaii, San Diego and Arkansas State for the Nov. 24-25 Acrisure Invitational.

“We are excited to have NCAA tournaments coming to our beautiful oasis,” White said.

'Relax a little'

The arena also has a “compound” adjacent to the arena that has a nine-hole mini golf course, basketball hoop/pickleball court, outdoor barbeque grill and bar that’s open for the teams to utilize.

“Depending on what they do the day of, coming from a shootaround, we hope they go up there and relax a little,” Page said.

Even though this is a new arena that cost more than $300 million, it still needed to meet NBA requirements to have a preseason game.

The NBA asks about the basket stanchion and the distance it is from the end line (minimum 57 inches), rim models, court dimensions, how long has it been in place and is there ice under the court.

There will be ice under the floor for Thursday’s game as the Firebirds, a hockey team, plays there.

Between 68 and 72 degrees

The game temperature must be between 68 to 72 degrees and humidity of the arena can’t be more than 55% at the court or event level.

An arena operations and security plan must be submitted. There's also technology requirements to handle multiple broadcasts and NBA statistics. Got to make sure showers stalls are high enough for those taller NBA players like Suns 7-footer Jusuf Nurkic.

Teams make their own preseason schedules the NBA must clear. The dates are usually approved between April and June.

So, planning for this game has been in the works for months.

Now it's time to reintroduce NBA basketball to Coachella Valley.

“The residents have overwhelming embraced the new arena and the events they are hosting,” White said. “We are very excited to have this game.”

Have opinion about current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Why Palm Springs for NBA preseason basketball? Suns, Lakers in town to put on show