After missing their last matchup due to freezing temperatures in Texas, the Lakers and Spurs are set to square off tonight. Despite missing the prime-time Saturday matchup, both teams looked poised to come into this one strong. The Lakers will be nearly full-strength coming into this game, with nearly a week of rest. However, they are taking on a Spurs roster that can get hot behind Wembanyama! This could be a critical game as the Lakers look to hold onto their two and a half game lead over the Spurs in the Western Conference standings.
The Spurs continue to ride the 500 train this season. With an 18-19 record, they are far from a bad team, which is saying something in the tight Western Conference. The explosion of Wembanyama is incredible, averaging 26 points, 12 rebounds, and 5 blocks over his last ten games. He has become the heart and soul of this team in only year two! He’ll be a key factor coming into tonight's game.
Neither of these teams likes to get out and run in space consistently. Sitting in the middle of the league for pace, when the old guys are on the court, expect the half-court offense to be key. Chris Paul is having another impressive passing year. The scoring has tailed off a bit, but he keeps everything together when he’s running the show out there. Keeping up with the LA starting lineup in the half-court will be crucial.
However, the way the Spurs win this game will be through the bench. The Lakers have one of the worst-scoring benches in the league. They’re bottom three for points per game. This is where the Spurs have to attack with a much deeper bench full of great young talent. Expect some names like Keldon Jonhson or Julian Champagnie to have strong nights.
Overall, I like the talent of the Spurs, but it feels like LA has a better chance to win this one. With nearly a week of rest for LeBron and AD, they’ll have fresh legs and can overwhelm the Spurs. Especially if LeBron is willing to take over early, the Spurs don’t have a great defensive option to stop him. I think the Spurs keep it close, but the Lakers still take this game on the road.
The Lakers are coming into this matchup fresh. They haven’t played since Tuesday last week due to the fires in LA and freezing temperatures in Texas. This might be great for an older team like the Lakers, as it’s rare that teams get this much time off beyond the All-Star break.
We’ll likely see both LeBron and AD in tonight's game. Listed as probable, both of them swing the odds towards the Lakers heavily tonight.
LeBron will likely be the most essential player tonight for the Lakers. Expect him to have the ball in his hand most of the game as AD takes on Wemby. That Wemby-AD matchup will be critical, though. AD has gotten the better of Wemby in the past season, but tonight might be different. The Frenchman has been playing at an elite level, and even AD, who’s put up MVP numbers at times, could struggle.
Luckily, AD can cash in on one of his best skills, three-point shooting. If he can pull Wemby out of the paint tonight and stick to the perimeter, the Lakers will dominate this game. If they switch off him, the Spurs don’t have another defender strong enough to win the one-on-one against AD.
I don’t expect AD to put up a massive stats game; instead, I expect him to use his gravity on the court to open up the floor.
Going down the roster, the Lakers have a solid group of guys to challenge the Spurs. They just need the young guys to hit their threes. We saw rookie Dalton Knecht go off for 40 in their first matchup. I don’t expect to see a game like that out of him again, but he’ll need to contribute, so consider taking his over on points tonight.
Overall, the Lakers will have the edge tonight. Even with Wemby playing at this elite level, LA has been the better team, especially with LeBron and AD. I expect the Spurs to keep things close up until the fourth quarter.
Lakers Injuries:
Christian Wood Out
Jalen Hood-Schifino Out
Bronny James Questionable
LeBron James Probable
Anthony Davis Probable
Spurs Injuries:
Jeremy Sochan Questionable
Spread: +3.5 SA (-115) / -3.5 LAL (-105)
Total Points: 220.5
Moneyline: SA (+114) / LAL (-114)
Anthony Davis Under 26.5 Points (-125)
LeBron James Over 39.5 Combined Points + Rebounds + Assist (-115)
Chris Paul 9+ Assist (+115)
Victor Wembanyama Over 3.5 Blocks (+110)
Dalton Knecht 10+ Points (+190)