The San Antonio Spurs look for some momentum as they travel to Tinseltown to take on the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Spurs have struggled in their first season without Kawhi Leonard and are currently at 11-12 and out of playoff position if the postseason was to start today. Meanwhile, the Lakers have climbed to 5th in the Western Conference after three straight victories.
The Spurs are struggling right now as they’ve won just four out of their last ten games played. They are coming off a big win over the Portland Trail Blazers to snap a two game skid. However, the Spurs have not won back to back games since November 4th and are in a tough position to break that skid against the surging Lakers.
DeMar DeRozan is fitting nicely in his new home. DeRozan is averaging 24.3 points per game to lead the Spurs in scoring. He is also averaging 6.0 assists per game to pace his team. LaMarcus Aldridge is tops in the team in rebounding at 10.5 while also scoring 18.3 points per game. Veteran Rudy Gay is also contributing 13.4 points and 6.9 rebounds per game.
San Antonio is 17th in the NBA in team scoring at 109.4 points per game. They also rank 15th in assists at 23.8 helpers per contest. The Spurs are giving up 112.3 points per game, ranking them 22nd in the entire league. San Antonio’s 44.4 rebounds per game also puts them at #18 in the NBA in that statistical department.
The Lakers are on a roll right now as they’ve won three in a row, all at home. Overall, the Lakers have won 10 out of their last 13 games including seven out of their last 8 home games. Los Angeles is currently third in the loaded Pacific Division but are 5th in the Western Conference and just two games behind the current leaders Denver Nuggets and los Angeles Clippers.
LeBron James is making an immediate impact in Tinseltown. King James is having another impressive season, averaging 27.8 points, 7.7 rebounds, 6.7 assists and 1.3 steals per game to lead the Lakers in those statistical departments. Second year man Kyle Kuzma is having a great start to his season, averaging 16.6 points per game as the team’s second top scorer. Brandon Ingram is also having a fine season, averaging 15.7 points and 4.2 rebounds per game for the Lakers.
The Lakers are the 10th best scoring team in the NBA at 112.7 points per game. They also rank 13th in the league in assists at 23.9 dimes per contest. On defense, the Purple and Gold are 9th in rebounding at 46.5 boards per contest. However, they only rank 17th in scoring defense at 111.0 points per game allowed.
The Spurs and Lakers have played each other a total of 169 times in the NBA regular season. The Spurs lead the all-time series 88-81 and have won 10 out of their last 13 meetings including their first two meetings of the season. The Spurs have also taken 5 out of the last 7 meetings between these teams at Staples Center.
The Spurs are 2-3 SU in their last 5 games played and are 4-8 SU in 12 road games played so far this season. The Lakers are 3-2 SU in their last 5 games played and are 9-4 SU in 13 games played at the Staples Center this season. Head to head, the Lakers are 6-4 SU in their last 10 meetings against the Spurs.
San Antonio isn’t just playing back to back games here, they are doing so on the road and are traveling from Utah to Los Angeles to play a rested team which is 9-4 at their home floor. San Antonio has beaten the Lakers twice already this season but you could make a case for the Lakers in both games. The breaks didn’t go their way and the Spurs ended up winning.
Manpower-wise, the Lakers are obviously the much deeper team. San Antonio’s lack of bench power could be its downfall in this game. Likewise, the Lakers have played much better as a team since their last meeting and I think we’re going to see that on Wednesday. Los Angeles is also on a roll at home while the Spurs may be tired from their road trip. We’re picking the Los Angeles Lakers to beat the San Antonio Spurs on 12/5/18.
San Antonio is 11-12 ATS in 23 games played this season and the Spurs are 5-7 ATS in their 12 road games played so far. The Lakers are 10-13 ATS on the season and are 6-7 ATS in 13 games played at the Staples Center so far during this campaign. Head to head, the Lakers are 4-2 ATS in their last 6 meetings against the Spurs.
With how they have been inconsistent this season, I really don’t like to lay that many points on the Lakers but not only are the Spurs struggling right now, they are on the road playing back to back games against a team that may be coming along. Los Angeles has also been closing out game well lately, winning their last three home games by an average margin of 14.33 points with no winning margin lower than 8 points. L.A. is 5-1 ATS in their last six home games while the the Spurs are 6-16 ATS in their last 22 road games. Prediction: Lakers -8
The over is 14-8-1 in the Spurs’ 23 games played this season and the over is also 7-4-1 in their 12 road games played so far. The total has gone under in 13 out of the 23 games played by the Lakers and the under is 7-6 in Los Angeles’ 13 home games so far. Head to head, the over is 7-3 in the last 10 meetings between the Spurs and Lakers.
Los Angeles has averaged 112.67 points per game in their last 3 games and have a mediocre defense. As for the Spurs, they put up 131 in their last game and the under is 7-4-1 in their 12 road games this season. Both teams also have mediocre defense so this game should be a shootout between western conference rivals. Prediction: Over 222
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