The San Antonio Spurs (3-19) are set to welcome the recently named in-season tournament champion Los Angeles Lakers (14-10) to the Alamo City for a two-game stint on Wednesday and Friday.
On Monday, the Spurs set a new franchise record for consecutive losses with 17 after falling to the Houston Rockets by an 11-point margin.
The Los Angeles Lakers fall to the Mavericks in Dallas 127-125. The #Spurs will try to find a spark against LA when they visit the Alamo City for an extended stay.
Here’s what rookie Victor #Wembanyama had to say about facing LeBron James tomorrow and again on Friday. pic.twitter.com/aRAu23w03r
— Mary Rominger (@KSATMaryRom) December 13, 2023
Here are three keys to victory when San Antonio takes on the Lakers:
Good decision-making down the stretch
The San Antonio Spurs have admittedly struggled to hold onto leads coming out of intermission and, more recently, in the fourth quarter.
Through 22 games this season, the Spurs are 1-10 when leading by 10 or more points.
On Dec. 8, when the team hosted Chicago, former San Antonio shooting guard DeMar DeRozan said the Spurs’ main problem was their lack of experience.
“They’ve got everything else,” DeRozan said. “Experience really becomes a critical thing late in the game and in certain key moments throughout the game. That goes a long way for a young team like that. They’re going to have it. They’re going to get it. The experience that they’re gaining. I know it sucks for them right now losing, but with that, you gain experience and understanding of what it takes to be winners and what it takes to close out games.”
Aggressive rebounding: Wembanyama vs. Davis
Rookie forward/center Victor Wembanyama has a combined 48 rebounds in the last three games for the Spurs.
Wembanyama is 8th in the league, averaging 10.6 rebounds per game.
For Los Angeles, Anthony Davis is the team’s leading rebounder with the second-best average in the league with 12.7 boards in 22 games.
LeBron James and Keldon Johnson are the next best rebounders for the Lakers and Spurs, respectively.
Taking advantage of the Lakers on their back-to-back
Rest is essential, and the Lakers won’t have as much rest as San Antonio entering Wednesday night’s tilt.
The Lakers have had a busy stretch. On Saturday, the team was in Las Vegas, winning the NBA’s first-ever in-season tournament.
The purple and gold then hit the road for a Tuesday night match-up against the Dallas Mavericks before facing San Antonio the following night.
Meanwhile, the Spurs have played twice since Friday, with the last game close to home in Houston.
