Pregame Report: Lakers @ Spurs

Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

The (44-19) Los Angeles Lakers are in Texas for round three with the (51-11) San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs have the best record in the Association. The also have a franchise record 22-game home win streak and a NBA-best 29-2 mark at the AT&T Center.

In San Antonio’s last game, they routed the Miami Heat by 30 and hitting a franchise-record 17 three pointers. They benefitted from a speedy return from injury of Tony Parker.

The Lakers lost both games against the Spurs this season despite playing well enough to win the last contest at the Staples Center by going down to defeat on a last second tip in basket.

This is the first leg of a four game road trip for the Lakers. All four opponents hold one of the league’s 10 best records. The bulldog, Derek Fisher, will play today and start.

They won a sloppy game and finally defeated the Charlotte Bobcats on Friday. They take a six-game winning streak into today’s game.

They have to step their game up because the effort has to be much better to beat San Antonio. The Spurs are a team that is not going to beat themselves.

It is imperative that the Lakers keep Tony Parker and Manu Ginobli out of the painted area.  They need to communicate on defense, do a solid job defending the screen and roll plays, get back in transition and quickly rotate out to open shooters.

Tony Parker has averaged 22 points against the Lakers, while surprisingly Tim Duncan has scored a combined 10 points in two games this season.

The Lakers are playing solid defensively and Andrew Bynum is doing a stellar job on defense. Bynum is doing an excellent job of rebounding, changing and blocking shots.

The Lakers have to get back to consistently using excellent ball movement and excellent player movement. They’ve been winning with defensive focus and offensive discipline. They have to control the tempo and pace of the game, dominate the painted area, challenge every shot and rebound. The Lakers bench has to win their match up. The reserves need to knock down shots.

This is a must-win game for the Purple & Gold; they’re ready and waiting to meet the challenge.

Starters
Lakers: D. Fisher, K. Bryant, R. Artest, P. Gasol, Andrew Bynum
Spurs: T. Parker, G. Hill, R. Jefferson, T. Duncan, DeJuan Blair

Tip-off: 12:30 PM PST

Television -

  • Los Angeles: ABC
  • San Antonio: ABC

Radio -

  • Los Angeles: 710 ESPN (Spero Dedes & Mychal Thompson)
  • San Antonio: WOAI-AM 1200 (Bill Schoening)

Injuries -

Lakers:

  • Matt Barnes (Right Knee Surgery) Day-to-Day
  • Theo Ratliff (Left Knee Surgery) Out
  • Devin Ebanks (Stress Fracture, Left Tibia) Out
  • Derek Fisher (Sprained Left Elbow) Probable

Spurs:

None

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