Lakers vs. Spurs: Game preview and thread, starting time, TV schedule

All eyes will be on Luke Walton before the Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs tip off Saturday evening in Texas. Rajon Rondo will be returning from his three-game suspension, and everyone will be wondering what that means for a starting lineup that has won two straight and very easily could be on a three-game winning streak.

The last time these two teams played, they went to overtime in what would’ve been a soul-crushing loss no matter how the game ended. San Antonio gave up an eight-point lead with a minute left in regulation, then the Lakers said, “hold my beer” and gave up a late lead in overtime after LeBron James missed two crucial free-throws.

Back to the point guards, though. Lonzo Ball has said all the right things regarding who starts, but the more you think about it, the more disappointing it would be if Walton went away from the second-year lead guard, especially after the way he played late in the Lakers’ win against the Denver Nuggets on Thursday.

Elsewhere on the court, it will be interesting to see if the Lakers made any adjustment to their approach to guarding LaMarcus Aldridge, who dominated the last time these two teams met to the tune of 37 points and 10 rebounds on 13-22 shooting. He got JaVale McGee into foul trouble and out-muscled Johnathan Williams, so we’ll see if the Lakers send more help early in this matchup.

Almost regardless of how we get there, expect a ton of offense in this one. Both teams are in the bottom portion of the league in defensive rating. The final score from earlier in the week was an insane 143-142, which is high even by overtime standards.

Tip-off for this one is 5:30 PM and the game will be televised on Spectrum SportsNet.