Los Angeles Lakers: 3 intriguing back-to-back sets for 2018-19 season

1. Dec. 7 at San Antonio Spurs, Dec. 8 at Memphis Grizzlies

The main back-to-back that I’m excited for is the antithesis of hype and buzz for NBA fans. It is an early December trip to the south that begins with a game in the Alamo against the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs are an unknown heading into this season with DeMar DeRozan and Jakob Poeltl joining the fray as champions Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green and Tony Parker left the team.

I don’t expect the Spurs to be contenders, but there aren’t many teams I’m more fascinated to watch than them. This team won 47 games last year with Kawhi only playing in nine of those, and they added a (finally) mobile big in Poeltl and an All-NBA player in DeRozan. I expect DDR to improve his jump shot working with legendary shooting coach Chip Engelland, and wouldn’t be shocked if San Antonio is a top-four seed in the playoffs.

Not to mention this game pits Gregg Popovich against LeBron James, two of the smartest minds this game has ever seen and wine connoisseurs, having a chess match of their own. This comes after these teams face off in L.A. on Dec. 5.

The second part of this back-to-back sees Los Angeles travel to Grind City to face the Memphis Grizzlies, another team of great intrigue. When healthy, the Grizz are one of the best teams in the West. Mike Conley and Marc Gasol have proven this team is an extremely difficult out in the playoffs when healthy, and with players like Jaren Jackson Jr., Jevon Carter, Dillon Brooks and Kyle Anderson on the roster, there should be optimism over how many styles of basketball they can play successfully.

These aren’t the sexiest names in the NBA, but this is the toughest back-to-back set the Lakers will play this season. Both are phenomenal crowds, well-coached and can play at any speed the game dictates. If the Grizzlies can stay healthy until this point, I see this as one of the Lakers’ more difficult challenges they will face during the 2018-19 campaign.