Monday night sees the San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Lakers go head-to-head at the Crypto.com Arena, with both teams looking to end losing runs.
The Lakers are six places further up the ladder in the Western Conference, with a 20-16 record compared to the Spurs’ 18-19.
JJ Redick’s men have lost their last two but they will see this clash, on their home court, as a perfect opportunity to pick up a third ‘W’ over San Antonio.
This is the third time the Spurs and Lakers have met this season, with Los Angeles 2-0 up after winning both November games.
Both of those matchups were at the Spurs’ Frost Bank Center and now the Lakers have home court advantage, although they are waiting on fitness reports.
LeBron James and Anthony Davis are struggling with foot issues, but both are expected to feature on Monday night.
Davis’s appearance is likely to be more significant, with the nine-time NBA All Star enjoying some high-level matchups with Spurs’ young star Victor Wembanyama.
The pair went toe-to-toe in this season’s first meeting, with veteran Davis firing 40 points to help the Lakers to a 120-115 victory.
It’s worth noting that Jeremy Sochan missed the two previous games with LA, with the Polish international sidelined with a finger injury at the time.
The power forward has missed the defeats to the Milwaukee Bucks and Chicago Bears with a lower back problem and might have to sit out again.
Keldon Johnson is expected to replace Sochan if he is ruled out, while Chris Paul and Stephon Castle are being tipped to start in the back-court.
The Lakers have lost just five of their 12 games at the Crypto.com Arena, in contrast to the Spurs’ form on the road.
Interim coach Mitch Johnson will need to improve on their away run, with a current 6-11 record and you have to go back to 2021 for the last time they won at the Lakers.
Wembanyama goes into Monday’s game with a 25.1-point average, but recent performances suggest he isn’t firing in and around the paint.
The 21-year-old scored 23 points in the defeat to the Bulls last week and followed that up with just 10 points in the 121-105 loss to the Bucks on Thursday.
Wembanyama did score 28 points in the first meeting with the Lakers this season, but followed that up with just 20 in their 119-101 defeat on November 15.
The Frenchman made 27 in this matchup last season, but he had Sochan to help him out and that may not be the case this time out.
This O/U total has been hit in four of the last five meetings between the two franchises, including 241 in this matchup last season.
If you take into account the average scores of the teams during this campaign, the 221.5 target would also be hit.
The Lakers rank 16th for points scored in the league, with a game average of 111.8, and Spurs are 17th, with a 111.3 average.
The hosts have scored 114 or more points in their last six games at the Crypto.com Arena.
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San Antonio Spurs | +140 ML |
Los Angeles Lakers | -165 ML |
Spread | LA Lakers -3.5 |
Total Points | O/U 220.5 (-110) |
Anthony Davis (LA Lakers) | O/U 26.5 |
Victor Wembanyama (SA Spurs) | O/U 24.5 |
LeBron James (LA Lakers) | O/U 23.5 |
Austin Reaves (LA Lakers) | O/U 18.5 |
Devin Vassell (SA Spurs) | O/U 16.5 |
Keldon Johnson (SA Spurs) | O/U 11.5 |
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.