Game Thread: San Antonio Spurs at Los Angeles Lakers

Jan 26, 2023 - 3:00 AM

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Welcome to the Game Thread. Veterans of the Game Thread know how we do things around here, but for all you newbies we have a few rules. Our community guidelines apply and basically say be cool, no personal attacks, don’t troll and don’t swear too much.

Both the Lakers and the Spurs are on a Crypto.com Arena back-to-back tonight, but the Lakers are on their second night while the Spurs are on the first. The common opponent is the Los Angeles Clippers, leading to an unusual situation where three teams play in one arena over three days. This is the fourth and final meeting of the Spurs and Lakers this season, and the Lakers have won all three so far, so the Spurs need a victory tonight to avoid a season sweep. With LeBron James possibly resting tonight due to a sore ankle, there’s a chance, but with Anthony Davis returning from injury tonight and a possible return from Lonnie Walker IV, the Lakers might be near full strength tonight.

After Monday’s disappointing loss to the Trail Blazers, the Spurs are looking to improve on defense, and really any kind of defense at this point would be an improvement. The Lakers don’t have the long range firepower of the Blazers, so this might be a good night for the Silver and Black to make at least one stop at some point in the game, instead of relying on the opponent to stop themselves. The Spurs are showing improvement on the offensive end, with Romeo Langford becoming a reliable second or third option, and Jeremy Sochan providing opportunistic points. Keldon Johnson is still the focal point of the offense with Devin Vassell out until late in the season, and he’ll have to find ways to make shots or pass to the open man while the defense if focused on him. The Spurs have always had an intense rivalry with the Lakers, so look for in intense matchup tonight, and BEAT LA!

Game Prediction:

LeBron James needs 177 points to catch Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the all time scoring leader in the NBA. He will fall just short tonight.

One final word:

Go Spurs GOOOOOO!!

San Antonio Spurs at Los Angeles Lakers
January 25, 2023 | 9:30 PM CT
Streaming: NBA League Pass
TV: BSSW SA

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