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Lakers-Spurs Preview

Jan 12, 2010 - 5:43 AM By MATT BEARDMORE STATS Writer

Los Angeles (29-8) at San Antonio (22-13), 8:30 p.m. EDT

The Los Angeles Lakers haven't lost four in a row on the road in nearly three years. That could remain the case with the defending champions heading to San Antonio to face a Spurs squad that's struggled against the league's top teams.

The Lakers and Spurs meet at AT&T Center on Tuesday night in the first of four regular-season matchups.

Los Angeles (29-8) has the best overall record in the NBA, but it's in danger of dropping four in a row on the road for the first time since a five-game slide from March 4-15, 2007.

"We've lost a couple on the road now," coach Phil Jackson said following Monday's practice. "We have to figure out some of the things we have to do."

Improving their shooting should be near the top of that list. Los Angeles is hitting 40.6 percent from the field while dropping two of three overall. Kobe Bryant, among the league leaders with 29.6 points per game, hasn't been immune to the team's cold shooting. He's shot 33.3 percent over his last four games while dealing with a finger injury he admits has affected his form.

Bryant missed 17 of 21 shots and scored 12 points in Sunday's 95-77 victory over Milwaukee. It was the worst shooting game of Bryant's career when he's taken more than 16 shots.

"I played with the splint off. We put it back on in the second half," Bryant said of his broken right index finger. "Just trying to get a little bit more flexibility back. The finger felt pretty good, so we tried to go without the splint. It's just not strong enough."

San Antonio (22-13), though, likely won't underestimate Bryant, who is averaging 27.3 points and shooting 51.0 percent in his last seven games in San Antonio, which includes two in the 2008 Western Conference finals. The Spurs are 4-3 in those games.

"The type of player (Bryant) is, he's going to come out strong and definitely do better than he did last game," veteran guard Keith Bogans said Monday. "I hope my teammates help me out, because he's almost impossible to stop 1-on-1."

The way the Spurs have played against teams with winning records, they would gladly give up a big game from Bryant in exchange for a victory. San Antonio has won 13 of 17 overall, but four of its last five victories have come against teams currently 11 games below .500 or worse, including a 97-85 win over New Jersey on Sunday.

The Spurs have lost four of five against current division leaders this season, and they haven't beaten a team that currently has a winning record since a 92-84 victory at Houston on Nov. 27.

"We haven't put a game together the right way," said Tim Duncan, who averaged 17.0 points and 9.7 rebounds as the Spurs dropped two of three to the Lakers last season. "Defensively, we're not where we need to be. Offensively, we're kind of up and down. There's a lot of things now we need to learn as a team, and hopefully we can clean up those things in the coming games.

"It's a process, and it's one that every one of us want to accelerate as soon as possible."

The Spurs could benefit if Pau Gasol misses his fifth straight game with a sore left hamstring, but Andrew Bynum is averaging 17.3 points and 13.0 boards in Gasol's absence. Bynum, who grabbed a career-high 18 rebounds Sunday, will go for his fourth consecutive double-double Tuesday after not posting one in his previous 23 games.

The Lakers will get their first look at Richard Jefferson in a Spurs uniform. Jefferson, acquired from Milwaukee last offseason, is shooting 55.3 percent from the field in his last five games, but he is having one of his worst seasons at 13.2 points per contest.

Los Angeles and San Antonio meet again Feb. 8 at Staples Center.