THE WEEK AHEAD: With five games in the next seven days, the Spurs are about to run an NBA gauntlet of sorts. It all starts on Wednesday, Jan. 23, when the Spurs host the Los Angeles Lakers. They follow that up the next night with a road game against Miami, only to come back home two days later to face New Orleans. After that, the Spurs end the seven-day stretch with a pair of road games — at Utah on Monday, Jan. 28, and at Seattle the following night.

THE 210 TAKE: The Spurs probably will be content to end this brutal five-game stretch with more victories than defeats.

THE 210 PREDICTION: 3-2