Preview: San Antonio Spurs vs. Houston Rockets – Preseason Game #5
Dejounte Murray and the Spurs end the preseason tonight (Photo via Twitter)
The San Antonio Spurs play their fifth and final preseason game tonight versus the Houston Rockets in the AT&T Center. Thus far in preseason action, the Spurs have a record of 2-2. After dominating the Utah Jazz by a final score of 111-85 in their first exhibition game, San Antonio lost two straight to the Detroit Pistons and Miami Heat. In their last game, the Silver and Black defeated the Orlando Magic 101-100 on Sunday.
Most recently, the Spurs played their annual intra-squad scrimmage on Wednesday night. Drew Eubanks, Dejounte Murray and rookie Joshua Primo all played well during the scrimmage.
San Antonio Spurs Injury Update
Lonnie Walker IV sat out the scrimmage with an unspecified injury. However, the Spurs have listed him as available for tonight’s game against the Rockets.
The Spurs will have four players sidelined for their last preseason contest. Al-Farouq Aminu will sit out due to an illness. Jock Landale will miss another game due to a concussion. Tre Jones and Zach Collins also remain out. Jones missed all of preseason due to an ankle injury, while Collins is sidelined until after Christmas as he recovers from surgery.
San Antonio Spurs Final Roster Cut
Earlier in the week, the Spurs released 2019 first round draft pick Luka Samanic. That shouldn’t have been much of a surprise, because it’s been clear since the beginning of preseason play that the native of Croatia was on thin ice. Earlier today, Samanic signed a two-way contract with the New York Knicks.
The Spurs still need to make one more roster cut. The two most likely players to be released are Al-Farouq Aminu and Keita Bates-Diop. Both players have guaranteed contracts this season and both played relatively well in the scrimmage, so it won’t be an easy decision. That said, Aminu appears to be the most likely player to be released.
There’s also an outside chance that the Spurs make a last second trade instead. Thaddeus Young or even Lonnie Walker IV are candidates to be traded in order to free up space on the roster.
San Antonio Spurs Starting Lineup
The Spurs appear to have settled on a starting lineup of Dejounte Murray, Derrick White, Doug McDermott, Keldon Johnson and Jakob Poeltl. The first players off the bench are likely to be Bryn Forbes, Drew Eubanks and Lonnie Walker IV. After that, Thaddeus Young and Devin Vassell will be the next in line for minutes.