Despite the grueling gauntlet and eight games without LeBron and four without Luka, the ‘next-man-up’ Lakers not only survived but showed they were capable of playing championship caliber basketball without LeBron.
The winner of tonight’s game between the 6–2 Lakers and the 5–1 Spurs will be the #2 seed in the West behind the unbeaten champion Thunder. The early betting odds have the home Lakers as 2.5 to 3.0 point favorites. After starting the season 2–2, the Lakers have now won four straight games without their superstars Luka Doncic or LeBron James, including stunning underdog wins over the heavily favored Timberwolves and Trailblazers.
Meanwhile, after starting the season with five straight wins, the Spurs ran into a buzz saw against the Suns last Sunday, losing to Phoenix’s blistering shooting from deep and their elite defensive strategy on Wembanyama.
Essentially, the Suns used the smaller and quicker Royce O’Neal to work hard to try and prevent Victor Wembanyama from receiving the post entry pass while their center Mark Williams and other defenders blitz him.
Both teams are injury riddled. The Lakers have announced that Reaves will be out tonight as well as James, Vincent, Kleber, and Thiero while the Suns will be missing Fox, Harper, Kornet, Sochan, Waters, and Olynyk tonight.
Despite the injuries, winning this game will probably come down to which superstar has the more dominant night. Right now, both Luka Doncic and Victor Wembanyama are off to historic career starts to their seasons.
Look for the Lakers to replicate the aggressive defense the Suns used to limit Wemby last Sunday and look for Luka Doncic to have another one of his 40-point masterpieces as the Lakers dominate the Spurs wire-to-wire.
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