Preview: San Antonio Spurs at Sacramento Kings – Game #56
Devin Vassell and the Spurs will try to get another win on the Rodeo Road Trip (Photo via Twitter)
Coming out of the All-Star break, the San Antonio Spurs continue the Rodeo Road Trip tonight with a game against the Sacramento Kings. The Spurs, who have an overall record of 11-44 on the season, have lost four of their first five games of the trip. After the Kings game, San Antonio has three more road games: at the Los Angeles Lakers, Utah Jazz and Minnesota Timberwolves.
Sacramento is coming into this evening’s affair with a record of 31-23. That record has the Kings in the eighth spot in the Western Conference, a half game behind the Dallas Mavericks and a full game behind the Phoenix Suns and New Orleans Pelicans. Considering that the Kings were the third seed in the West last season, being the eighth seed has to be a disappointment.
This will be the second of three meetings between the Spurs and the Kings. In the first matchup, Sacramento won by a final score of 129-120. De’Aaron Fox led the way for the Kings that game with 43 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in 41 minutes. He was 14-for-24 from the field, 5-for-11 from three-point range and 10-for-13 at the free throw line.
San Antonio Spurs Injury Update
Following more than a week off, the Spurs aren’t dealing with any active injuries. The only players officially on the roster who can’t play against the Kings are Charles Bassey and Marcus Morris. Bassey is out for the season with a torn ACL and Morris is reportedly working on buying out his contract with the Spurs. Morris was acquired by San Antonio in the deal that sent a second round draft pick to the Spurs and Doug McDermott to the Indiana Pacers.
San Antonio Spurs Starting Lineup
With time to think about things, there’s a chance that head coach Gregg Popovich will shake things up coming out of the All-Star break. However, it’s somewhat safe to assume that Tre Jones will start at point guard, Devin Vassell at shooting guard, Julian Champagnie at small forward, Jeremy Sochan at power forward and Victor Wembanyama at center.
In 21 games as a starter, Jones is averaging 11.9 points, 7.0 assists and 3.7 rebounds in 29.5 minutes per game. In that stretch, he’s shooting 53.3% from the floor, 34.0% from three-point territory and 90.9% at the charity stripe.
Betting Guide: Spurs at Kings
The Kings are favored by 10.5 points and the over/under is 242.5 points. The smart money is on the under. While San Antonio may be energized following the time away from the court, the last time we saw them the Spurs were struggling to put the basketball in the hoop. Add in an improving Spurs defense and there may not be offensive fireworks tonight.