Los Angeles Lakers at San Antonio Spurs 1/1/21: NBA Basketball free preview, analysis, prediction, odds and pick against the spread.
2021-01-01 20:00:00 EDT
The San Antonio Spurs play host to the Los Angeles Lakers at the AT&T Center on Friday night.
The Los Angeles Lakers have been in great form lately as they’ve won three of their first five games and they will be looking to stay hot after blowing past the Spurs in a 121-107 road win on Wednesday. LeBron James led the team with 26 points, five rebounds and eight assists, Dennis Schroder added 21 points, Anthony Davis scored 20 points while Wesley Matthews provided the spark off the bench with six 3-pointers to finish with 18 points. As a team, the Lakers shot a sizzling 56 percent from the field and 14 of 26 from the 3-point line as they set the tone with 35 points in the first quarter, before holding off the Spurs who only shot 46 percent from the field.
Meanwhile, the San Antonio Spurs have split their first four games of the season and they will be hoping to respond after Wednesday’s loss to the Lakers. Dejounte Murray led the team with 29 points and seven assists on 12 of 19 shooting, DeMar DeRozan added 23 points with six assists while Patty Mills chipped in with 12 points off the bench. As a team, the Spurs shot just 46 percent from the field and 10 of 24 from the 3-point line, but the problems were on the defensive end as they just had very little answer for the Lakers. Defensively, the Spurs forced the Lakers into 17 turnovers, but they were just too efficient down the stretch.
Looking at the betting trends, the Lakers are 11-5-1 ATS in their last 17 games playing on one days rest and 1-5 ATS in their last six games following a win. The Spurs are 3-11 ATS in their last 14 games following a loss, 1-4 ATS in their last five games following a loss of more than 10 points and 5-2 ATS in their last seven games overall.
Head to head, the over is 13-6 in the last 19 meetings overall, the Lakers are 5-2 ATS in the last seven meetings in San Antonio and the Lakers are 4-0 ATS in the last four meetings overall.
It’s always tough to beat the same team twice in a item in their own building, but it’s hard to go against the Lakers when they have a bunch of role players stepping up. I’m sure coach Popovich will have the Spurs ready to respond and they might get off to a better start, but I don’t think it will be enough as the Lakers get the win and cover again.
