The Los Angeles Lakers play host to the San Antonio Spurs at Crypto.com Arena on Friday.

The Spurs (11-45) suffered a loss in their first game out of the break, but that's been common for this club all season. They come into this matchup losing nine of their last 10 games. Sadly, that's not the worst stretch this team has had, and it's clear they're in line for another top pick in next year's draft. That's what fans want, though, because they need someone to pair up with Victor Wembanyama. The French rookie is leading the league in blocks in his rookie season and truly looks like a revolutionary player. This kid is only scratching the surface of what he could become, and it's scary to think that he's a Top 20 player and is still learning the game.

The Lakers (30-27) were one of the hottest teams heading into the All-Star break, winning six of seven games before some time off. They started the "second half" with a road game against the Golden State Warriors, losing that game in narrow fashion. The signs are encouraging from this team, though, because Anthony Davis has been playing some of the best basketball of his career. More importantly, they're getting about 25 points and six assists from D'Angelo Russell since the trade deadline rumors were squashed, and he looks like a new player with that reassurance and confidence. We didn't even mention LeBron James, who just made his 20th All-Star appearance over the weekend, but missed that defeat on Thursday.

These teams played a back-to-back in December, splitting those matchups. With that said, Los Angeles has won five of their last six games over San Antonio in total.