Lakers vs. Spurs Preview and Game Thread: Bouncing back from a horrible week

The Lakers will host a Spurs team sans Victor Wembanyama and De’Aaron Fox on Monday, looking to string together wins.

After snapping their four-game losing streak with a win against the Phoenix Suns on Sunday, the Lakers are back at it on Monday when they host the San Antonio Spurs. It’s the final matchup between these two teams this season as L.A. looks to make it two wins in a row.

Start time and TV schedule

Who: Los Angeles Lakers vs. San Antonio Spurs

When: 7:30 PST, Mar 16

Where: Crypto.com Arena

Watch: Spectrum SportsNet

The last time the Lakers and Spurs faced each other was back in January when the Lakers were steamrolled at home in the fourth quarter by Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs. Since then, a lot has changed with these two teams, making their last match feel like it was held years ago.

The Lakers revamped their roster while the Spurs added a new running mate alongside Wemby in De’Aaron Fox. This game was supposed to be a preview of what this matchup could look like for years to come, but, unfortunately, both Wemby and Fox are out due to injuries, which changes the whole dynamic of this game.

With Wemby and Fox officially ruled out for the year, the Spurs have kissed their season goodbye and embraced the tank. It’s safe to assume that they’re not going to be as much as of a threat compared to how they were over the last couple of months, so it’s on the Lakers to take advantage. San Antonio enters this match as losers of six of their last 10 games, which tracks given the absence of their best players.

Still, the likes of Devin Vassell, Stephon Castle, Keldon Johnson and even Jeremy Sochan are a pest to play against and can go off anytime, especially now that they’re pretty much playing free basketball. But L.A. should still be able to handle them because they simply have more firepower.

Aside from Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves, who combined for 61 points on Sunday, the Lakers got Jaxson Hayes back in the lineup, which made a difference from the get-go. Hayes, who scored 19 points, should be due for another big night on Monday since 14-year veteran Bismack Biyombo will be his primary defender.

The most serviceable big San Antonio currently employs is Harrison Barnes, so L.A. should capitalize on this non-frightening front court. That said, with two of their starters back in the lineup, the Lakers are looking like themselves again.

I mean, who would’ve thought?

After losing four straight game last week, the purple and gold have some making up to do. Winnable games like this one against the Spurs become even more important. Let’s see if L.A. can make it two in a row on Monday.

Notes and Updates

• Jordan Goodwin got his second start as a Laker on Sunday against the Suns. It seems this is the move that JJ Redick is going to stick with as he awaits for the rest of his starters to get healthy.
• Since they played on Sunday, the Lakers have yet to release an injury report for this one. Only ones that are certainly out are Rui Hachimura (left patellar tendinopathy), Maxi Kleber (right foot surgery) and LeBron James (left groin strain).
• Meanwhile for the Spurs, Charles Bassey (left knee bone bruise), Malakai Branham (G League), Fox and Wemby are all out. Jordan McLaughlin (left achilles soreness) is questionable.
• We will be live on Playback for this game, so be sure to join us!

You can follow Nicole on Twitter at @nicoleganglani.