A trip to Las Vegas is on the line on Wednesday night, as the Los Angeles Lakers host the San Antonio Spurs at Crypto.com Arena in the NBA Cup West semifinal.
The winner will go on to play either the Phoenix Suns or the defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder in the “Entertainment Capital of the World” on Dec. 13.
The Spurs (16–7, 3–1 NBA Cup) escaped Group C but will attempt to survive the first knockout round without star big man Victor Wembanyama. The Lakers (17–6, 4–0 NBA Cup), meanwhile, breezed through Group B and will welcome back Luka Doncic as they push for a second Cup championship.
The Lakers return to LA, fresh off a statement road win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday, fueled by a season-best performance from veteran superstar LeBron James.
Tipoff is set for 10 p.m. ET. Los Angeles enters as a 7.5-point home favorite, while San Antonio sits as a +230 underdog. The game’s total is set at 241.5 points.
Ahead of Wednesday night’s contest, here’s my favorite LeBron James prop bet on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Best LeBron James prop bet for Spurs vs. Lakers
Best Bet: LeBron James Over 7.5 Assists (+104)
As he closes in on his 41st birthday, LeBron James reaffirmed to doubters that he’s not washed just yet. On Sunday in Philadelphia, the four-time MVP erupted for a season-high 29 points (12-for-17 FG, 4-for-6 3PT) with seven rebounds, six assists, one block, and a steal in a 112–108 win.
Aside from his arguable G.O.A.T. status, the grounds for a scoring outburst at this stage of LeBron’s career were two-fold: Austin Reaves mustered just 11 points on 3-for-16 shooting, and Luka Doncic was on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean for the birth of his second child.
Doncic is set to rejoin the lineup on Wednesday night, and Reaves — whose 28.4 points per game rank eighth in the NBA — is likely to rebound from an uncharacteristically bad performance. Without having to shoulder the load on offense, James can revert back to his newfound roles in the LA system: an off-ball menace and elite facilitator.
The NBA’s all-time scoring leader has always considered himself a pass-first player. And in seven games this season, he’s pairing 16 points with 7.6 assists a night. The four-time MVP and 2019-2020 NBA assists leader peppered his teammates with 12 dimes in his season debut on Dec. 18 and has topped 7.5 assists three times already.
Against the Toronto Raptors on Dec. 4, James dished out 11 assists — punctuated by one of the most impactful ones of his career. James, sitting at eight points with just five seconds to go, sacrificed his NBA-record 1,297-game double-digit scoring streak to hit Rui Hachimura in the corner for the game-winning three.
The four-time NBA champion has proven time and again that he’s willing to make the right play when push comes to shove. Against a depleted Spurs squad whose defense is a shell of itself without Wembanyama, count on James to actively defer to his star teammates and pile up at least eight assists as the Lakers punch a ticket to Vegas.
