Preview: San Antonio Spurs at Sacramento Kings – Game #63
Tre Jones and the Spurs will try to win a road game tonight (Photo via Twitter)
The San Antonio Spurs will try to get their seventh road win of the season tonight when they travel to Sacramento to take on the Kings. The Spurs are 6-28 on the road and 13-49 overall. The Kings are 16-11 at home and 35-26 overall.
San Antonio has won two of their last three games. Last game, they lost by a final score of 114-101 against the Houston Rockets (see the Grades). Since Jan. 20, the Spurs are 1-10 on the road. Their only win during that time frame was 122-99 over the Toronto Raptors.
The Kings have also won two of their last three games. Their latest contest was a 130-120 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. De’Aaron Fox led the way for Sacramento with 44 points against LeBron James and the Lakers.
This will be the third and final game between the Spurs and Kings. Sacramento won the first two games. On Nov. 17, the Kings won in San Antonio, 129-120. On Feb. 22, Sacramento won at home by a final count of 127-122. Fox also led the way in that game with 28 points.
Victor Wembanyama Injury Update
Unfortunately, the Spurs will be without Victor Wembanyama tonight. The star rookie is dealing with a sprained right ankle. The injury obviously impacted his outing against the Rockets. In 31 minutes in Houston, Wembanyama had only ten points and no points in the second half — but he was able to tally 11 rebounds, seven blocks and three assists.
Heading into the game against the Rockets, Wembanyama was listed as questionable with a sore shoulder. Expect San Antonio to keep him out until he’s close to 100 percent healthy.
San Antonio Spurs Starting Lineup
With Victor Wembanyama sidelined, expect head coach Gregg Popovich to go with Tre Jones at point guard, Devin Vassell at shooting guard, Julian Champagnie at small forward, Jeremy Sochan at power forward and Zach Collins at center. Dominick Barlow will likely enter the rotation as the team’s backup center.
Another player to keep an eye on is Malaki Branham. Over his last nine contests, he’s averaging 13.4 points in 22.7 minutes per game while shooting 48.9% from the field and 48.7% from three-point land.
Betting Guide: Spurs at Kings
The Kings are favored by 11 points and the over/under is 235.5 points. Considering that the Spurs are 0-6 this season without Wembanyama, the smart money is on the Kings to win by 12 or more points. San Antonio has played well on the road lately — and will have a much harder go of it without Wembanyama.