Los Angeles Lakers vs. San Antonio Spurs: 3 Best Bets for Victor Wembanyama's Debut vs. LeBron James
The San Antonio Spurs have their first matchup with the Los Angeles Lakers tonight in the first of a two-game homestand against LA. Victor Wembanyama will go up against LeBron James and Anthony Davis for the first time in his young career.
The Spurs have started a more sensible lineup of Devin Vassell, Malaki Branham, Keldon Johnson, Jeremy Sochan, and Wembanyama in recent games. While that group is yet to get a win, there is optimism that a Sochan and Wembanyama frontcourt will allow both players to reach new heights.
LeBron James shoots over Zach Collins.
© Daniel Dunn-USA TODAY Sports
The Lakers are 4-2 in their last six games, not including the In-Season Tournament championship in Las Vegas that saw them beat the Indiana Pacers and raise the first-ever NBA Cup. LeBron James is trying to give Father Time “one loss,” and his 25.3 points per game are by far the most a 21-year veteran has ever averaged.
The Spurs had to shut down Charles Bassey for the season with an ACL tear, but other than that both teams have clean injury reports. With a loaded Lakers team coming to town, we have our three best bets below, courtesy of SI Sportsbook.
The Lines
Point spread: Lakers -2.5 (-110)/Spurs +2.5 (-118)
Moneyline: Lakers (-133)/Spurs (+105)
Over/under: 230.5
Our Picks
Safe pick: Keldon Johnson OVER 17.5 points (-120)
Aside from a 12-point, 0-for-9 shooting performance against Houston on Monday, Keldon Johnson has been on a heater. In the ten games before his abysmal performance in his last game, Johnson has been averaging 18.6 points and is shooting an insane 43 percent from deep. In 2021-22, he shot 40 percent from deep for the entire season and fans were convinced he was the next Klay Thompson. A bit of an overestimation, but the season after that he went only 33 percent from deep. If he can return to form from behind the arc, there’s no reason he can’t post 20 points or more every night.
Team pick: UNDER 230.5 points (-110)
The Spurs played excellent defense on Monday, but couldn’t get their offense going. With Keldon Johnson and Devin Vassell both being cold from behind the arc, it’s unreasonable to assume that the Spurs will magically start making all their threes. The Lakers lost to Dallas last night and will be on no rest, so they are also unlikely to pack the scoresheet.
Defense pick: Victor Wembanyama OVER 2.5 blocks (-118)
Wembanyama is averaging 2.8 blocks on the season. Over his last ten games, that has been increased to 3.3. Since moving to center–where he is expected to play tonight–Wembanyama is averaging 4.5 blocks. He has been on a tear and is rivaling Anthony Davis, who is right alongside Wemby in the NBA block leaderboard. That means Davis will be trying to show fans that he is the superior player and take Wembanyama to the rim a lot. It might result in points, but it will also result in some ejections.
