Preview: San Antonio Spurs at Denver Nuggets – Game #67

Keldon Johnson will be back as the Spurs head to Austin (Photo via Twitter)

The San Antonio Spurs face a very difficult challenge tonight when they take on the Denver Nuggets. Not only are the Nuggets the defending NBA champions, they’ve won 10 of their last 11 games — and the one game they lost went into overtime. That hot streak has lifted Denver to a record of 46-20, which is tied with the Oklahoma City Thunder atop the Western Conference.

At 14-52, the Spurs are at the bottom of the West. They’ve lost two straight games. San Antonio’s latest defeat was at the hands of the Houston Rockets. The Spurs made a run late in the fourth quarter but couldn’t get over the hump and lost to the Rockets by a final 103-101 (see the Grades).

Spurs Make Austin Home

While tonight’s game against the Nuggets is technically a home game, the Spurs won’t be playing in San Antonio. Instead the Silver and Black will be playing in Austin at the Moody Center. The Spurs will play a second game in Austin on Sunday before returning to San Antonio to complete their eight-game home stand.

San Antonio Spurs Injury Update

There is a lot of good news on the injury report. Victor Wembanyama and Devin Vassell will play tonight despite both recently sitting out games due to injury. Keldon Johnson, who missed the contest against the Rockets with an illness, is also expected to play.

The only active player on the injury report for San Antonio is Cedi Osman, who is dealing with an injured ankle.

San Antonio Spurs Starting Lineup

With almost everyone healthy, expect head coach Gregg Popovich to continue to roll with a starting five of Victor Wembanyama at center, Devin Vassell at shooting guard, Tre Jones at point guard, Jeremy Sochan at power forward and Julian Champagnie at small forward. 

Off the bench, Popovich will undoubtedly be pleased to have the services of Keldon Johnson. In his last five games before missing the Rockets contest, Johnson averaged 19.0 points while shooting 48.6% from the field, 42.1% from three-point range and 90.0% at the free throw line.

Betting Guide: Spurs at Nuggets

The over/under is 223.5 points and the Nuggets are favored by 10.5 points. Even though this is technically a home game for the Spurs, the smart money is on the Nuggets to win by 11 or more points. Denver has been playing really well while the Spurs, on the other hand, have looked iffy in their last two outings.