Los Angeles Lakers vs. San Antonio Spurs: 3 Best Bets for Bounce Back Game

After losing by three points to the Los Angeles Lakers, Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs look to finally win a game.

The San Antonio Spurs narrowly lost to the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night, 122-119. Thanks to heroics from Keldon Johnson and Victor Wembanyama, the Spurs were able to crawl back from a 20-point fourth-quarter deficit, but it was too little too late.

Luckily, the Spurs have a chance for redemption. The Lakers stayed in town, so the Spurs will once again host them, this time broadcast nationally on ESPN.

Dec 13, 2023; San Antonio, Texas, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis (3) dunks in front of San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) and forward Keldon Johnson (3) in the first half at the Frost Bank Center / © Daniel Dunn-USA TODAY Sports

Wembanyama has been moved to center, after starting the season at power forward. While it has not resulted in wins yet, he is averaging an insane 22 points, 17 rebounds, and five blocks in three games as the full-time center.

The Spurs have missed Devin Vassell, who has shot 3-of-25 from deep in the last three games. With a fully healthy lineup, the Spurs should be able to keep it close once again against a depleted Lakers squad. LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Tauren Prince, and Jarred Vanderbilt are all questionable while Maxwell Lewis, Jalen Hood-Schifino, and Gabe Vincent are all out.

Below, we have our lines and best bets, powered by SI Sportsbook.

The Lines

Point spread: Lakers -7.5 (-110)/Spurs +7.5 (-118)

Moneyline: Lakers (-333)/Spurs (+235)

Over/under: 234.5

Our Picks

Safe pick: Victor Wembanyama OVER 20.5 points (-120)

Not the best odds to make money, but this is the safe pick for a reason. Wembanyama is coming off a 30-point performance, and that was against Anthony Davis. With Davis questionable, the odds of Wemby being able to lay 21 points is even better. If Davis does play, it will be a doable challenge. If he doesn’t it should be pretty much a cakewalk.

Opponent pick: LeBron James UNDER 27.5 points (-125)

Betting against LeBron James is scary and we don’t do it lightly. That being said, the chances of him playing are slightly lower than usual, given that the Spurs lost to his Lakers without him on Wednesday. He doesn’t have to play, and the Lakers will still probably win. If he does play, he has averaged 25.3 points this season and will want to go at Wembanyama at the rim. This line is cutting it close, but since we will possibly be on a minutes restriction, we don’t see him going the distance.

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Defense pick: Victor Wembanyama OVER 2.5 blocks (-152)

The odds being this much in favor of Wembanyama getting three blocks should tell you all you need to know: a 19-year-old rookie will be on an All-Defensive team. With James taking him at the rim to prove a point, Wembanyama will get plenty of chances to swat shots away. He has fallen short of this line only once in the last six games and recorded six blocks in his last outing.