Game Time: 8:30 PM ET, Tuesday, October 26th, 2021 

Venue:  AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas

Where to Watch: NBA league pass, local cable

DraftKings:  Spread:   ** :  O/U: **

BetMGM:  Spread:   **:  O/U: **

No available odds at press time… we will update at 6pm PT

Lakers: 1-2 (western conference)

Spurs: 1-2 (Western Conference)

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RECENT FORM

LAL isn’t LOL..  The Lakers are still feeling their way in the dark with an old roster full of conflicting personalities.  They have lost two games and won their third because of a missed free throw.  Kyle Kuzma now laces them up for the Washington Wizards because of the Russell Westbrook trade ( he was a one-man wrecking crew vs the Spurs last season)... but the Lakers still have the real GOAT LeBron James and perennial MVP candidate Anthony Davis.  They give you a shot in every game against any team… and when they get Talen Horton-Tucker and Trevor Ariza back from the injured list… The Lakers will make a fine playoff run.  The Lakers opened the season with a loss to the Golden State Warriors 121-114, a loss to the Phoenix Suns 115-105, and a close win over the Memphis Grizzlies 121-118.  All on the Lakers home court. That’s 0-3 ATS.

Lamarcus Aldridge, Patty Mills,  and Demar DeRozan are gone (Kawhi Leonard has been gone a long time now).  These aren’t the SA Spurs you would recognize if you are one of the 3 people who have been watching them the last 3-5 seasons.  The Spurs now are younger, maybe even a bit less talented.  They have a lot of guards that could be somebody someday… or they could be lost to the history of NBA predictions.  Their best chance at beating the Lakers is actually a very good chance… they just have to pick up the pace.  The bonus of this roster is they are younger and potentially deeper than the Lakers from the bench… so run the old guys out of the gym! The Spurs opened the NBA season with a blowout win over the Orlando Magic 123-97. An easy double figures win! The Magic are hardly a team ready for the regular season… They are young, unproven, and half of them are injured…. Still it was an NBA game and the Spurs won.  The Spurs then lost the next two games to the Denver Nuggets 102-96 and the Milwaukee Bucks 121-111.

The Lakers are tied with 9 other teams for 12th place in offensive efficiency.  This is a result of the small sample size in the early season.  They have an offensive rating of 108.3, are shooting 55.5% FG, and 1.47 assist-to turnover ratio (for 16th).  They aren’t off to a great or even a good offensive season, but things will improve as players return to the lineup and as Russell Wilson figures out his place (should be soon).

The Spurs are 11th in offensive ranking with 109.6.  They are shooting 53.9 % with an assist to turnover ratio of 2.07 (have I mentioned they are well coached?).  The best thing about this team is the 6th place in offensive rebounds at 29.1% of offensive possessions.  That beats the Miami Heat and the Indiana Pacers and the Philadelphia 76ers… heck it beats all these teams that have vaunted frontcourt players.  Good coaching produces stats like these.  They still are 1-2 though.

Our prediction for Tuesday, October 26th is… Lakers 118 - Spurs 108

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The Lakers are 4-2 ATS versus San Antonio over the last 3 seasons.

The Lakers are 3-1 ATS in games played at San Antonio over the last 3 seasons.

4 of 4 games in San Antonio vs Lakers in San Antonio have gone UNDER.

Lakers:  SF LeBron James (leg) Quest, SF Trevor Ariza (ankle) Out, PG Kendrick Nunn (knee) Out, SG Talen Horton-Tucker (thumb) Out, SG Wayne Ellington (hamstring) Quest

Spurs: PF Devontae Cacock (personal??) Out, PF Zach Collins (Ankle) Out

Lakers:  PG Russell Westbrook, SG Austin Reeves, SF Kent Bazemore, PF LeBron James, C Anthony Davis

Spurs: PG Dejounte Murray, SG Derrick White, SF Doug McDermott, PF Keldon Johnson, C Jakob Poeltl

Lakers:

Points: LeBron James 26

Rebounds: Anthony Davis 11

Assists: Russell Westbrook 8.7

Steals: Russell Westbrook 2

Blocks: Anthony Davis 2.7

Spurs: 

Points: Keldon Johnson 20.7

Rebounds: Jakob Poeltl 9.7

Assists: Dejounte Murray 7

Steals: Derrick White 2.3

Blocks: Derrick White 1

Lakers:  Frank Vogel.  Mr. Excitement has a ring from coaching the Lakers and I still have to Google him to spell his name.  He is a very lucky placeholder for a team that every decision goes through LeBron.  Good work if you can get it.

Spurs: Gregg Charles Poppovich.  Hall of Famer Gregg Poppovich is the absolute man!  If you look up “great” in the dictionary you would get his picture. Gregg has hung in a small market preaching Team first attitudes and play.  He has 5 rings for his trouble (with help from The Admiral, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker, and Kawhi) and eternal respect.  The end of his career will be marked as a guy who didn’t embrace the 3-pointers… and so he will leave the multi-decade nest on a low note.  Still he is the greatest.  (what about Phil?... give my nephew Phil’s players he would have the same amount of rings).