There’s a special Monday NBA on TNT doubleheader in the works tonight and the second game of the twin bill will feature the Lakers hosting the Spurs in a Western Conference showdown. The oddsmakers are a bit slow in hanging a number on this contest with the statuses of both Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum in question. We do note, however, that the Lakers will be playing with revenge for a 20-point loss in San Antonio last month.

Winning in Los Angeles should prove to be a far more daunting task for the Spurs, who have lost five straight road games to the Lakers. That being said, they did win on this same floor Saturday night, beating the Clippers 98-81 as a 3.5-point road favorite. That snapped a three-game ATS losing streak for the club, who was off a tough 96-94 loss in Portland Thursday night. They are just 4-8 ATS their last 12 games overall, but 2-1 SU on the current eight-game road trip.

On January 12th, San Antonio shot 57% from the floor and outscored the Lakers 30-22 in the fourth quarter en route to a 105-85 victory as 3.5-point favorites. Tim Duncan had 25 points and 13 rebounds in the victory.

Clearly, the big story here is whether or not Kobe Bryant will play. The decision will have a clear impact on the line as you can expect the Lakers to be favored by about six if he does suit up as opposed to around a Pick ‘Em if he does not. Bryant sat out Saturday’s 99-82 win and cover at Portland, a place where the Lakers traditionally struggle. He has not missed consecutive games since the first two games of the 2006-07 season. Interestingly enough, he also sat out the fourth quarter of the game vs. the Spurs last month due to back spasms.

For the record, Kobe is currently “day to day” according to Lakers head coach Phil Jackson.

The team showed that they could win without him against the Blazers as Ron Artest scored 22 points and Lamar Odom added 21. The key to the win was a +17 edge in rebounding and they also held Portland to 43% shooting for the game.

The Lakers will be looking to avoid a second consecutive home loss, something that has not happened all season. Denver blew them out 126-113 on Friday night. Overall, Los Angeles is 24-4 SU at home, but just 13-14-1 ATS.

Totals players should take note that five of the last six meetings between these teams here in LA have gone Under the total.

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