After losing to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday, the Lakers (32-20) are back at it on their home floor on Tuesday when they take on the San Antonio Spurs (36-16). This is the final match between the teams this season.
Start time and TV schedule
Who: Los Angeles Lakers vs. San Antonio Spurs
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When: 7:30 p.m. PT, Feb. 10
Where: Crypto.com Arena
Watch: NBA TV, Spectrum Sportsnet
Tuesday’s game against the Spurs might just be the toughest game for the Lakers this season. It’s on the second night of a back-to-back against the current second-best team in the Western Conference that’s not only healthy but has already beaten the purple and gold twice this season.
This has schedule loss written all over it.
But that’s not to say that it’s certain that the Lakers won’t try to win this game. They’re going to compete and it’ll be a matter of gutting this one out against Victor Wembanyama — who is averaging 23.9 points, 11.1 rebounds and 2.7 blocks this season — De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle and crew. The same squad that blew out the Lakers twice in their last three games. They will also be coming off two days of rest before Tuesday’s game.
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In the lone game the Lakers won against the Spurs this season, they limited Wembanyama’s production. They did that by getting him into foul trouble before he eventually fouled out. That was the same game when the Lakers threw the kitchen sink on Wemby, thus allowing Deandre Ayton to outplay him.
This was obviously no longer the case in their most recent battle, when Wemby got his revenge on Ayton and the team. But besides him, it’s actually the Spurs’ role players that have also given the Lakers a lot of trouble this season.
Los Angeles has yet to find an answer for San Antonio’s speedy, athletic and dynamic guards in Fox, Keldon Johnson, Julian Champagnie and Castle, all who have stood out in their last few battles. If this continues, then the Lakers’ chances of winning will be slim to none.
Without Luka Dončić, the Lakers will have to rely on LeBron James and Austin Reaves — who are also uncertain for this one — and will need extraordinary performances from their role players. Note that the Spurs are a top-three defensive team. They have an elite rim protector in Wemby who will surely attempt to limit the Lakers’ scoring inside the paint. This game will be a test for the Lakers of their creativity on offense and whether their improved defense of late is good enough against a top-10 offensive team.
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Let’s see if the Lakers can quickly bounce back against the Spurs on Tuesday.
Notes and Updates
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Since the Lakers are playing on a back-to-back, the injury report for this one won’t be released until a few hours before tip-off. However, expect Adou Thiero (right MCL sprain) to be out.
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For the Spurs, only Lindy Waters III is unavailable.
You can follow Nicole on Twitter at @nicoleganglani.
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