Game Thread: San Antonio Spurs @ Los Angeles Lakers 11.18.16

[Vitamike]

Lakers Vs. Spurs Preview: L.A. Looks To Hand San Antonio First Road Loss Of Season

The Los Angeles Lakes look to continue their strong play at home against the San Antonio Spurs tonight. On Tuesday night the Lakers struggled late to put away the New Jersey Nets, but eventually came away with a 125-118 victory. D’Angelo Russell led the way with 32 points and four assists and Julius Randle chipped in a triple-double with 17 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 assists.



The Spurs come into L.A. looking a bit different from years past as Tim Duncan no longer dons the iconic No. 21 jersey. Unsurprisingly, they haven’t missed a beat because of Duncan’s absence; they are averaging 101.2 points per game this season. San Antonio is coming off a 110-105 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night bringing their season record to 9 wins and 3 losses.

The Lakers continue to be an early surprise this season, boasting a record of seven wins and five losses. One noticeable difference is that this season they have shown the ability to be competitive for a full 48 minutes, which translates well for tonight against one of the top teams in the NBA. This game provides as a good measuring stick of how far this Lakers team has come in the early going of the season.

Backcourt:
The backcourt of the Spurs this season has been a little out of sync, as Tony Parker and Danny Green, the usual starters, have missed time. When Parker has played, he hasn’t been as productive as we are accustomed to, averaging 8.0 points and 4.1 assists per game. This may due to a right knee injury suffered in the season-opener or maybe because he’s currently in his 15th season in the NBA and feeling the effects of father-time. During his absence, Patty Mills has filled in admirably, averaging 10.6 points and 3.8 assists per game.

Kyle Anderson has started mostly in the place of Danny Green, and while he doesn’t score much offensively (2.7 points per game), he plays very smart, committing less than one turnover per game.

The Lakers backcourt of D’Angelo Russell and Nick Young has been impressive this season. Russell currently leads the team in scoring, 16.8 points per game, but at times has shown inconsistency which has allowed either Jordan Clarkson or Lou Williams to finish games.

Both Clarkson and Williams have been bright spots for the Lakers this year, serving as offensive weapons off the bench. Their play has been important in all of the Lakers wins this season. If the Lakers want continued success, they need Clarkson and Williams to play the way they have been. Against the Spurs, look for the Lakers to depend largely on their backcourt to provide the energy and scoring needed to come out victorious.

Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
Frontcourt:
San Antonio has one of the most potent frontcourts the NBA offers, starting Kawhi Leonard, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Pau Gasol. Leonard has been playing at an MVP level this season, averaging 25.5 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. While he’s been asked to carry more of the scoring load, he’s still able to defend at an elite level that makes him one of the most versatile players in the league. Behind Leonard, Jonathon Simmons has done a good job coming off the bench for the Spurs, averaging 7.1 points per game and playing solid defense.

Aldridge has been his usual self since entering the league, averaging 17.5 points and 7.1 rebounds per game this season. What makes Aldridge hard to defend is his ability to knock down outside jumpers. By him doing so, he’s able to extend the defense, which allows San Antonio’s guards to penetrate and create easy baskets. Although there has been some concern about his fit in San Antonio, Aldridge is still one the top power forwards in the game and has shown the ability to score with the best of them.

Gasol, a familiar face for Laker fans, serves as a suitable piece in the Spurs system. While he’s only averaging 10.5 points per game, he provides high basketball IQ, which is important when playing for the Spurs.

The frontcourt of the Lakers, especially Julius Randle, has played better than expected this season. Randle has been a complete nightmare for opposing teams, often using his versatility to dribble past defenders or use his power to score down on the block. Timofey Mozgov has been solid patrolling the paint for the Lakers. His defense and his ability to alter shots is what has the made the Lakers into a better defensive team from the last few years.

Luol Deng has largely been disappointing this season. He is currently averaging 6.4 points per game, shooting a woeful 31.3 percent from the field. When he signed during the offseason, he was expected to bring consistency at the small forward position to allow rookie Brandon Ingram get accustomed to the NBA, but has instead lacked the offensive punch he’s provided throughout his career. Ingram, Larry Nance Jr., and Tarik Black have done a great job of providing energy off the bench and if they want future success, they must continue their play.

3 Keys To Victory

Limit Turnovers

As well as the Lakers have played this season; they are committing 16.8 turnovers per game. It has led to easy buckets for opposing teams and against the length of the Spurs, they must do a better job of taking care of the ball.

Push the Pace

The Lakers must take advantage of their youth against the veteran Spurs. By tiring San Antonio out, they can get easier baskets in transition, which will be needed since San Antonio occupies the fourth-best defense in the league.

Play Better Defense

The Lakers defense the past two games has not been solid. Against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday afternoon, they let Andrew Wiggins score a career-high 47 points and allowed the Brooklyn Nets to score 118 points on 45.5 percent shooting Tuesday night. The Lakers must play with high defensive intensity to keep the Spurs in check.

Los Angeles Lakers (7-5) Vs. San Antonio Spurs (9-3)
7:30 P.M. PST, November 18, 2016
Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
TV: Spectrum SportsNet
Radio: 710 (ESPN)/1330 KWKW (Spanish)

Projected Spurs Starting Lineup:
PG: Tony Parker
SG: Danny Green
SF: Kawhi Leonard
PF: LaMarcus Aldridge
C: Pau Gasol

Key Reserves: Patty Mills, Manu Ginobli, David Lee, Jonathon Simmons, Kyle Anderson

Projected Lakers Starting Lineup:
PG: D’Angelo Russell
SG: Nick Young
SF: Luol Deng
PF: Julius Randle
C: Timofey Mozgov

Key Reserves: Jordan Clarkson, Lou Williams, Brandon Ingram, Tarik Black, Larry Nance Jr.

 

[Vitamike]

The Spurs defense has picked up halfway through the 1st Quarter, but it looked mostly like jitters for the Lake Show from the onset.

19-14 Spurs with 2:02 left in the first quarter.

 

[Vitamike]

This is a team the Lakers can't fall far behind on but they are down by 10 at the end of the first quarter

26-16

Time to circle the wagons or this could be a loooooooooong night for the purple and gold.

 

[Vitamike]

Lakers trying to keep it close. Now with a 6-0 run to cut it down to single digits.

32-23 Spurs

Time out Spurs

 

[Vitamike]

And the 6-0 run turns to an 10-0 run...

32-27 Spurs

Time out Spurs!

 

[Vitamike]

And now Pop puts his starters back in and they quickly go on a 6-0 run themselves.

 

[Vitamike]

3 point game!

42-39 Spurs

4 minutes left in the first half

 

[True Lakers Fan]

Is it safe to start believing that this Lakers team is normally going to play hard for 48 minutes and not quit like past teams?

I am really beginning to like it

 

[Vitamike]

All tied up at the half!

52 All

Nice work by the Lakers!

 

[Vitamike]

Is it safe to start believing that this Lakers team is normally going to play hard for 48 minutes and not quit like past teams?

I'd like to see how they are going by the end of the Grammy Trip but that's not until mid Feb.

These next 10 games with be very hard as only two are not against playoff teams from last year.

 

[Inimical]

Werkin but keeping score

 

[Inimical]

Looks like the Lakers are being competitive

 

[True Lakers Fan]

I'd like to see how they are going by the end of the Grammy Trip but that's not until mid Feb.

These next 10 games with be very hard as only two are not against playoff teams from last year.

Yeah - that's what I have been reserving judgment, but they have made a good start and look to be successful that 30+ games. At this point I hesitate to think they can get 40+ wins and make the playoffs, but I do think there is a possibility.

 

[Vitamike]

Lakers cut it to a 5 point game with 1:39 to play!

Without Russell and still the Lake show is hanging tough!

 

[True Lakers Fan]

You just know the Lakers aren't quite good enough to hang with the Spurs and expect a loss and yet they kept it close. The would have to make a couple of really quick threes at this point

 

[Vitamike]

Four point game and Shaggy just misses the inbound steal!

That would have made it real interesting...

Instead, Parker dribbles out the 24s clock and knocks down the 2 pointer with less than a minute to go.

113-107 Spurs

 

[Vitamike]

You just know the Lakers aren't quite good enough to hang with the Spurs and expect a loss and yet they kept it close. The would have to make a couple of really quick threes at this point

Yeah the 3rd quarter was a tough one. At one point in the third the Lakers went from a 4 point lead to a 15 point deficit.

 

[True Lakers Fan]

Yeah the 3rd quarter was a tough one. At one point in the third the Lakers went from a 4 point lead to a 15 point deficit.

Even with Russell, that would have been tough, but without him, they were still in the game the entire time and you have to be happy about that

 

[Retroram52]

Even though we came up short against SA, the really appreciated difference this team has under Luke is they don't go home early and even if they have a crappy third quarter like last year, they fight back and strongly compete in the fourth. Another impressive change from last year is our offense is waaayyyy better and is consistently over a 100 points per game. Our D is still a little suspect though as evidenced last evening.

 

[Kold]

Every time it looked as if the spurs would run away with the game, this team kept fighting back. In the end, one thing I didn't like was that Luke stuck with that small lineup at the expense of the defense once again. When the other team's center is athletic, and talented like Aldridge, it negates the advantage that Randle would have, and also forces Randle to guard a much taller big man