Tuesday NBA: Lakers (29-8) at Spurs (22-13)

We are nearing the halfway point of the NBA season, yet tonight’s game between the L.A. Lakers and San Antonio is the first meeting of the season between the two West favorites and long-time rivals.

San Antonio is a 3-point betting favorite on WagerWeb.com’s NBA odds.

The Spurs did their offseason makeover – trading for Richard Jefferson, signing Antonio McDyess and Theo Ratliff — in hopes of giving themselves a chance against the Lakers’ stellar frontline. They even acquired Keith Bogans in hopes of making him the defensive stopper on Kobe Bryant like Bruce Bowen used to be.

But San Antonio doesn’t look like a true contender, as it is 3-11 against teams at or above .500 and 19-2 against everybody else. However, San Antonio has rebounded from a 9-9 start by reeling off victories in 13 of 17 games thanks to improved defense and a better offense from Tim Duncan. He averaged 17.0 points and 9.7 rebounds as the Spurs dropped two of three to the Lakers last season.

And tonight’s game won’t be a true litmus test because Lakers All-Star forward Pau Gasol remains out with a hamstring injury. Ron Artest will play after returning from a Christmas Day fall with 19 minutes in Sunday’s win over Milwaukee.

San Antonio does catch a bit of a break in that Bryant is struggling with an injured index finger on his shooting hand. He is shooting around 33 percent in the past four games (L.A. is 2-2 in those), including a 4-for-21 performance against Milwaukee.

Bryant has played with a splint off but plans to wear it again on this trip, and doesn’t plan on sitting out any games. His contention is that the injury can’t get any worse. He’s still the NBA’s second-leading scorer at 29.6 points per game and has averaged 32.3 in 15 games since the injury.

“It’s already broken,” Bryant said. “The swelling just comes, then it goes. I just try to treat it and stay on top of it.”

The Lakers have lost their last three road games, two by double digits. For the season, L.A. is 8-5 away from Staples Center.

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