Preview: San Antonio Spurs vs. Phoenix Suns – Game #72
Tre Jones and the Spurs will look to get even with the Suns (Photo via Twitter)
The San Antonio Spurs will attempt to bounce back against the Phoenix Suns on Monday night. On Saturday, the Spurs got destroyed by the Suns. Phoenix got off to a strong start behind Kevin Durant and Devin Booker and sprinted to a 131-106 victory. San
In Saturday’s contest, the Spurs were led by Victor Wembanyama once again. He totaled 13 points, five rebounds and four assists in 21 minutes, while hitting 5-of-7 from the field, 1-of-2 from three-point land and 2-of-2 from the free throw line. Unfortunately, not many other players on the Silver and Black produced (see the Grades). The loss dropped San Antonio to 15-56, which remains the worst record in the Western Conference
Phoenix improved to 42-29 with the win. Durant had 25 points on 12-of-16 shooting in 31 minutes, while Booker had 32 points, nine assists and seven rebounds in 31 minutes. The Suns are currently the sixth seed in the West, which is important because that’d mean they would avoid the play-in tournament.
San Antonio Spurs Injury Update
The big news for the Spurs heading into tonight’s game is the status of Victor Wembanyama. The star rookie was listed as questionable yesterday due to an ankle injury. Today, the Spurs downgraded Wembanyama to out. That means he won’t play against the Suns.
The good news is that the ankle injury is reportedly minor. Wembanyama hasn’t yet been ruled out for any further games. The Spurs next play on Wednesday in Salt Lake City against the Utah Jazz. After that, San Antonio has two home games: versus the New York Knicks on Friday and the Golden State Warriors on Sunday.
San Antonio Spurs Starting Lineup
With Victor Wembanyama in street clothes, the Spurs will be forced to start a different lineup than usual. To go along with Tre Jones at point guard, Devin Vassell at shooting guard, Julian Champagnie at small forward and Jeremy Sochan at power forward, expect head coach Gregg Popovich to start Zach Collins at center.
To fill in for Collins at backup center, expect Dominick Barlow to get those minutes.
Betting Guide: Spurs vs. Suns
The smart money is on the Suns tonight. With Victor Wembanyama out and San Antonio just getting demolished by Phoenix a couple days ago, it’s probably asking too much for the Spurs to be competitive tonight. Even though the Suns are favored by 12.5 points, the best bet is on Phoenix winning by 13 or more points.