Preview: San Antonio Spurs vs. Brooklyn Nets – Game #68
Jeremy Sochan and the Spurs will try to leave Austin with a win (Photo via Twitter)
The San Antonio Spurs will play in Austin at the Moody Center again tonight. After losing to the Denver Nuggets in Austin (see the Grades), the Spurs will play their second and final game in Austin this season when they host the Brooklyn Nets. The Spurs enter with a record of 14-53, while the Nets enter at 26-41.
Despite Brooklyn’s unimpressive record, the Nets are still in the playoff hunt in the Eastern Conference. Currently, they’re three and a half games behind the tenth seeded Atlanta Hawks. That said, the Nets have lost four of their last five games, so they’ll need to get better quickly if they hope to advance to the postseason.
The Spurs have the third worst record in the NBA. Only the Washington Wizards (11-56) and the Detroit Pistons (12-54) are beneath San Antonio in the standings.
San Antonio Spurs Injury Update
The news on the injury front has gotten better. Not only are Victor Wembanyama, Devin Vassell and Keldon Johnson available to play tonight after missing recent contests, Cedi Osman has been upgraded to questionable. Osman hasn’t been able to play since spraining his ankle against the Sacramento Kings on Mar. 7.
Jacque Vaughn Out as Nets Coach
The last time the Spurs and Nets played against each other, Brooklyn won by a final score of 123-103. In that game, the Nets were coached by former Spurs player and assistant coach Jacque Vaughn. Since then, the Nets fired Vaughn and replaced him with former NBA player and former college coach Kevin Ollie.
Since the coaching change, Brooklyn has a record of 5-8.
San Antonio Spurs Starting Lineup
Head coach Gregg Popovich hasn’t shown that he’s thinking of mixing up the team’s starting lineup of Tre Jones at point guard, Devin Vassell at shooting guard, Julian Champagnie at small forward, Jeremy Sochan at power forward and Victor Wembanyama at center.
Sochan has played well in his last two games. In those contests, he is averaging 20 points, seven rebounds and three assists in 30 minutes per game.
Betting Guide: Spurs vs. Nets
The Spurs are actually the favorites tonight against the Nets. Prognosticators have the Spurs favored by 1.5 points and the over/under at 217.5 points. The smart money is on the Spurs to win by two or more points. They’re due for a win and the Nets haven’t been playing well recently. The Silver and Black would undoubtedly like to leave this Austin showcase with a victory.