There's already a massive chasm in the standings between the Los Angeles Lakers and the San Antonio Spurs, and the spread in Friday night's game between these two in the Lone Star State is going to be massive. Live betting might be the better way to gauge this game, knowing that the final quarter is probably going to end up going by pretty quickly in what could turn into an ugly affair.
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SCHEDULING
The Lakers are in the midst of a horrible road trip right now with all of the awards ceremonies going on at the Staples Center. They've already finished up the East Coast portion of the trip, only beating the Wizards in five tries, and they have to come to San Antonio two nights after playing in Minneapolis. They have a short turnaround to get ready for Houston as well on Saturday.
It's not like Los Angeles is a good ATS team either at home or away, but a 5-9 ATS mark and 5-9 mark for under bettors is proof that this offense really struggles on enemy courts.
With the Spurs playing in Atlanta on Saturday, this would be a prime spot for Gregg Popovich to give his superstars a day off, and that's yet another reason why live bettors are probably going to be better poised to bet this game than straight bettors who might get caught in the old Popovich nightmare of playing his B-team on little to no notice for bettors.
KEY MATCHUP
Even if the big boys don't play in this game for the Spurs, there are still so many athletic freaks of nature on this team that the Lakers aren't going to be able to body with.
LaMarcus Aldridge is the king of said players, as he's 6-foot-11 and could effectively play point guard if he had to. Kyle Anderson, Danny Green, Boris Diaw and Jonathon Simmons are all similar stretch players who are between 6-foot-6 and 6-foot-9, and they'll all going to provide real matchup nightmares for the Lakers even if Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, Kawhi Leonard and Tim Duncan take the day away.
Live bettors are going to have to see how men like Julius Randle and Larry Nance Jr. react to playing against the Spurs. They haven't seen a lineup quite like this yet this season, and we already know that this LA team is a wreck, particularly with Kobe Bryant hogging so many of the shots.
KEY TRENDS AND STATS
The Spurs are 18-4, including going 11-0 at home this year, and they're sporting matching 7-4 ATS marks home and away. Where they're really putting teams away though, is with their defense.
Go back and look at the games San Antonio has played against these really bad teams like the Lakers. They held the Sixers to 68 points, Milwaukee to 70 and Denver to 80 just in the last couple weeks.
The common thread live bettors need to remember is that this team just doesn't give up defensively even when games are over with. The Spurs have averaged allowing 23.4 points per game in the fourth quarter this year, but against teams with at least a dozen losses already on the campaign, that number drops to a stunning 17.3 points per game.
If you're going to live bet this game, keep a close eye on the total. The Spurs have a knack for taking their foot off the gas pedal on offense, but they're always playing their heart out on defense. Plan on LA not getting beyond about 20 in the final stanza, and you should find a few good lines to bet on in-game.
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Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute, so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook! The matchup between the Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs will go down Friday, December 11, 2015 at 9:30 p.m. ET at the AT&T Center. The matchup will be televised live on ESPN.
