Lakers vs Spurs NBA Cup Preview and Game Thread: The IST title defense begins

The Lakers will see Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs in the first game of their NBA Cup title defense

After sweeping their three-game home stand, the Lakers are back on the road where they will tip off their NBA Cup title defense against the San Antonio Spurs. This will be the first meeting between both teams.

Start time and TV schedule

Who: Los Angeles Lakers vs. San Antonio Spurs

When: 4:30 p.m. PT, Nov 15

Where: Frost Bank Center

Watch: ESPN, Spectrum SportsNet

In their first NBA Cup game, the Lakers will stumble upon a Spurs team that’s won their last two games led by their generational sophomore in Victor Wembanyama, who is coming off a strong 50-point performance against the Washington Wizards. The fact that the Spurs are playing winning basketball to start the year, along with it being an NBA Cup game, will make this a challenging game for the Lakers on Friday.

That’s not to say that L.A. is no match against San Antonio. After all, the purple and gold are 3-0 since Cam Reddish replaced D’Angelo Russell in the starting lineup and they might have found something there. But it’s also important to mention that this game could possibly be a little tougher given that the Lakers currently have a thin frontcourt rotation after the injury of Jaxson Hayes.

Still, if the Lakers attack the NBA Cup this year as competitively as they did last season, they can win this one. The key is actually limiting Wemby’s production and they have the means to do that thanks to the brilliance of Anthony Davis. These two big men will be the biggest X-factors of the game.

For AD, it’s about defending Wemby as tough as he can, especially since the latter is on pace to have the most three-point attempts by a big man in NBA history — a twist the 20-year-old has added to his game this season. The Frenchmen is currently averaging 8.3 three-point attempts a game and making 2.8 of those. Even if he’s missing from downtown, Wemby has had no trouble putting up numbers as he’s averaging 36 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks in the last three games.

What the Lakers should take advantage of is the fact that outside Wembanyama, the Spurs don’t have an elite offense. They average 109.8 points a game, which ranks 22nd in the league. Aside from Wemby’s 22.3 points a game, their next best scorers are Devin Vassell (16.7) and Jeremy Sochan (15.4). Meanwhile, the Lakers have emerged as a top-five offensive team led by, of course, LeBron James, AD, and Austin Reaves.

All that said, this should be a really fun battle between two contrasting teams. One has an elite offense and putrid defense while the other has a top-11 defense and subpar offense. The Spurs are a top-10 rebounding team while the Lakers are 27th. The Lakers draw the second most free-throw attempts while the Spurs are 27th in fouls committed per game. On top of all this, it’s an NBA Cup game, so expect it to be way more intense.

Let’s see if the purple and gold start their NBA Cup title defense on a strong note against the Spurs on Friday.

Notes and Updates

• Note that the Lakers and Spurs are in the West Group B group alongside the Phoenix Suns, Utah Jazz and Oklahoma City Thunder. The first matchday of this group already took place on Tuesday.

• If you want to refresh your memory on how the NBA Cup format works, you can read my preview about the mechanics last season here.
• For the Lakers’ injury report, Anthony Davis (left plantar fasciitis) is listed as probable. The new addition on this report is Rui Hachimura, who is now considered questionable due to a right ankle sprain.
• As expected, Jarred Vanderbilt (right foot surgery recovery), Jaxson Hayes (left ankle sprain) and Christian Wood (left knee surgery recovery) remain out as well as Jalen Hood-Schifino (left groin soreness).
• As for the Spurs, it’s notable that Jeremy Sochan (left thumb surgery) is out as well as Tre Jones (right ankle sprain).
• We will be live on Playback for this game, so be sure to join us!

You can follow Nicole on Twitter at @nicoleganglani.