NBA: San Antonio Spurs vs. LA Lakers Preview, Odds, Prediction

Gregg Popovich and his San Antonio Spurs play another game in Los Angeles, only this time, they meet the Lakers instead of the Clippers, against whom they played last night. Both of these teams are far below the .500-line and, for the moment, aren’t anywhere near the playoffs. The Spurs had a brief period in which they looked like a team that could compete for the postseason, while on the other side, the purple and gold were terrible right from the start.

Preview

San Antonio Spurs (6-11, +240) lost to the Clippers last night, 119-97, allowing 40 points in the opening quarter and losing that part of the game, 40-22. It was pretty much the end of all their hopes of staying unbeaten against the Clips, who had Kawhi Leonard back in their lineup, facing his old team.

SAS defense was terrible, and it allowed 54.3% of shooting to the guests, and also, 21 three-pointers in 40 attempts, which is extremely high. The Spurs did score more points in the paint and had more rebounds, but that wasn’t enough to erase the initial deficit.

Jakob Poeltl was once again very good, having 20 points, a team-high, and eight boards, in 25 minutes on the floor. Dough McDermott entered off the bench to score 13 points and Keldon Johnson had 11, with these three players being the only ones with double-digit scoring stats.

Los Angeles Lakers (4-10, -265) have back-to-back wins, both at home. The first was against the Brooklyn Nets, 116-103, and the second over the Detroit Pistons, 128-121. We need to say that the LAL looked solid in these two contests, primarily due to Anthony Davis, who was putting up huge numbers.

The Eyebrow had 37 against the Nets and 38 in a win over the pistons, with 34 rebounds combined and four blocks, all that in 34 minutes per game. His shooting percentage was over 60% in each of these events, so the Lakers got their superstar back on the right track.

Lonnie Walker scored 17 points, Austin Reaves one fewer, while Russell Westbrook came off the bench to add a double-double, 10 points and 12 dimes. Wenyen Gabriel had 15 buckets and seven boards. LeBron is day-to-day, according to the latest reports, but he isn’t expected to play tonight. Still, keep an eye on news about King James.

Head to Head Games

The score in the overall series is on the Spurs’ side, as they won 92 games compared to the Lakers’ 89. Last year the Lakers won the opening two clashes, one in San Antonio and the other at home, before losing at the Crypto.com Arena and in Texas.

Prediction

The Lakers are on the rise, and we believe that not having LBJ and Westbrook in the lineup helped Davis to find his form, and it also improved other players. The trend among purple and gold is positive, and it appears they will win this event. San Antonio played last night, which will leave some trace on their energy bar, and overall, they don’t seem like a team that can win on the road on the second of back-to-back nights.

Pick: Lakers win -265