After clinching their group on Tuesday with a win over the Clippers and finishing unbeaten in group play on Friday against the Mavs, the Lakers will host their quarterfinal matchup against the Spurs.
The game is set for Wednesday, Dec. 10 at 7:00 p.m. PT. The Thunder and Suns meet in the first NBA Cup game in the Western Conference earlier that day.
The Lakers and Spurs met once earlier this season with LA grinding out a win. This meeting means the two sides will play four times in total this season.
San Antonio is currently dealing with some injury issues to their stars. Victor Wembanyama is not playing with the team on their current road trip as he recovers from a calf strain. According to Shams Charania of ESPN, he was set to miss “a few weeks” dating back to Nov. 17, so it’s fair to assume he would be back for the game against the Lakers.
Stephon Castle is also sidelined right now as he was ruled out for two to three weeks with a hip flexor strain on Nov. 18. A return after three weeks would have him back roughly on Dec. 9, just before the game against the Lakers.
Lastly, Dylan Harper only recently returned after missing 10 games with a calf injury. Having said all that, though, the depleted Spurs went into Denver and beat the Nuggets on Friday, led by Devin Vassell’s 35 points. De’Aaron Fox, who did not play against the Lakers earlier this season, has returned and is 25 points per game on 50% shooting.
The winner of this game will advance to the semi-finals to meet the winner of the Thunder and Suns in Las Vegas.