The NBA In-Season Tournament dust has settled, and champions Los Angeles Lakers return to their primary job of building wins for the regular season.
Lakers vs. Spurs for Wednesday NBA games make for a compelling watch as it will be the first time Victor Wembanyama will face Lebron James.
Both are no. 1 overall draft pick of their batch and the hype surrounding their arrival in the NBA are said to be the same intensity.
The game will be at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio at 07:00 PM CST.
It is the first of their two consecutive matches. They will meet again in the same venue after less than 48 hours.
Lakers vs Spurs Odds December 13
Spurs have yet to put up anything this season that resembles a winning formula and makes them look scary. This is why the Lakers are easily the favorites in the match.
Spread: Lakers -4.5, Spurs +4.5
Moneyline: Lakers -185, Spurs +154
Over/Under: 229
That is a short-spread advantage for the Lakers, but they are still the favorites despite Spurs being on a 17-game losing skid.
Lakers vs Spurs Preview December 13
The Spurs' losing streak is not talked about that much as the Detroit Pistons take the cake for the worst team in the league with their 20 straight games without a victory.
It is hard to bet on coach Greg Popovich's squad to upset the Lakers. They are all about development, and Wembanyama is not surrounded yet by the right players that will allow him to excel.
For now, everything he does is out of pure talent.
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The Lakers, on the other hand, have an established system under Darvin Ham.
However, he may rest his top players for the Spurs game for load management since the Spurs match will be the second game of a back-to-back. He might opt not to rest either James or Anthony Davis after their loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday.
Regardless, the Lakers remain a formidable match for a young Spurs. There are even hot takes that San Antonio is still tanking. Nobody knows for whom, though, as the 2024 NBA Draft is not as stacked.
Frustration is setting in for the players, especially for Victor Wembanyama, who is living up to the hype, but his good games have yet to translate to a victory.
"Of course, it's not easy, but we don't have a choice," he said after their narrow loss to the Houston Rockets on Monday.
"Keep going, keep grinding. The good thing is nobody doubts that in the long run, we're going to be the winners. ... I hate losing, but I stay focused on the long-run goal."
If they can use this as motivation, maybe they have a chance.
Lakers vs Spurs Pick December 13
A depleted lineup is what Ham will offer for their visit to San Antonio, but that hardly matters, even if the Lakers are bad on the road with a 4-7 record.
The Lakers have a deeper lineup; many players can step up without other key players.
The Lakers will win 117-104.
Related article: Monty Williams Tries Best to Look at Bright Side Despite Detroit Pistons' Losing Woes
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