The Los Angeles Lakers are on the second night of a back-to-back against a young and rebuilding San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday evening.
L.A. has eight road games in December and this is an opportunity for the team to find their groove away from Crypto.com Arena. Unfortunately, the Lakers could not kick off this three-game road trip with a win against the Dallas Mavericks without Kyrie Irving on Tuesday, losing 127-125.
Coming off winning the first In-Season Tournament in NBA history, the purple and gold had some positive momentum heading into this Texas road trip. It hurts that the Lakers couldn’t pull out a win against a Mavericks team hammered by injuries, but now have two straight matchups with the Spurs, who have lost 17 straight.
LeBron James and Anthony Davis played heavy minutes on Tuesday with James playing 40 and Davis with 37. This is not ideal playing in a back-to-back, which resulted in the two stars being deemed questionable for tonight’s matchup. Jarred Vanderbilt was also listed as questionable after missing the game in Dallas with low back spasms.
Playing without James is obviously not easy, so other Lakers players need to step up to ensure they come out on top against an inferior opponent.
This is the first time L.A. gets a look at the Spurs and their highly coveted rookie Victor Wembanyama, who has been compared to LeBron as one of the greatest prospects to enter the league. Wembanyama has had a solid start to his first year by averaging 18.8 points, 10.6 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 2.8 blocks, accompanied by capable scorers in Devin Vassell scoring 17.8 points and Keldon Johnson chipping in 16.7 points.
Davis and Wembanyama will make for an entertaining matchup as they are both great defensive centers, but Davis having a bigger and stronger frame should be able to score against the French big man. L.A. will have to squash the hopes of any chance of the Spurs snapping their losing streak in the first quarter, giving a young team confidence will lead to a more competitive game than expected.
San Antonio struggles offensively in the bottom four in the Western Conference averaging 109.4 points a contest and last defensively in the conference giving up 121.4 a game. Accompanied by not protecting home court with a 1-10 record, this should be two straight wins against a struggling team.
Los Angeles Lakers (14-10) vs. San Antonio Spurs (3-19)
5:00 p.m. PT, Dec. 13, 2023
Frost Bank Center, San Antonio, Texas
TV: Spectrum SportsNet, NBA TV
Radio: 710 AM ESPN LA
Projected Lakers starting lineup:
PG: D’Angelo Russell
SG: Cam Reddish
SF: Taurean Prince
PF: Rui Hachimura
C: Anthony Davis
Key Reserves: Jarred Vanderbilt, Austin Reaves, Max Christie, Jaxson Hayes, Christian Wood
Projected Spurs starting lineup:
PG: Malaki Branham
SG: Devin Vassell
SF: Jeremy Sochan
PF: Keldon Johnson
C: Victor Wembanyama
Key Reserves: Zach Collins, Tre Jones, Cedi Osman, Doug McDermott
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