PROBABLE STARTERS Spurs: PG Stephon Castle (6-6, 2nd), SG Devin Vassell (6-5, 6th); SF Julian Champagnie (6-7, 4th), PF Harrison Barnes (6-8, 14th), C Victor Wembanyama (7-4, 3rd).

Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James delivered his best performance of the season against the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night.

BOTTOM LINE: Los Angeles will try to build upon its four-game win streak with a victory against San Antonio. Los Angeles went 50-32 overall and 36-16 in Western Conference play a season ago. The Lakers allowed opponents to score 112.2 points per game and shoot 46.3% from the field last season.

The Los Angeles Lakers are off to a solid start to the season. They sit with a 6-2 record through their first eight games and are coming off arguably their best

"Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves are both being held out of the lineup against the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday, the Los Angeles Lakers announced, one day after the pair played nearly 40 minutes apiece in a 130-120 win over the Miami Heat ," wrote Dave McMenamin.

During a victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday night, Nick Smith Jr. was an unlikely hero who had a game he will surely never forget.

That opportunity came when Deandre Ayton was bought out of his contract with the Portland Trail Blazers. Shortly after, Ayton signed a two-year, $16.6 million deal with the Lakers, stepping into a role as a potential third or fourth scoring option behind LeBron James, Luka Doncic, and Austin Reaves.

According to Howard, he was still nursing a shoulder injury at the time, but he chose to play anyway. The Lakers suffered a terrible loss to the Boston Celtics, and D12 already felt something was off, as he was never taken out of the game despite it being garbage time.