Preview: San Antonio Spurs vs. Minnesota Timberwolves – Game #22

Jakob Poeltl will play a bigger role against the Timberwolves (Photo via Twitter)

The San Antonio Spurs will look to bounce back tonight against the Minnesota Timberwolves after two disheartening losses versus the Memphis Grizzlies. On Saturday, the Spurs were easily defeated 129-112. On Monday, instead of revenge, the Spurs were defeated even easier — this time 133-102.

While the Grizzlies played extremely well, the Spurs had issues on both ends of the basketball court. Offensively, there was a lot of standing around and over-dribbling. Defensively, the Spurs were allowing the Grizzlies to get into the paint with ease.

After improving to three games over .500, the Spurs now have a record of 11-10 due to the two-game losing streak. The Timberwolves enter tonight’s contest with a 5-15 record. They are only 3-13 after beginning the 2020-21 season with two consecutive wins.

San Antonio Spurs Injury Update

After having a completely healthy roster the last two games, the injury bug has return. Both Rudy Gay and LaMarcus Aldridge will miss the game this evening due to hip injuries. Aldridge has right hip flexor soreness and Gay has left hip flexor tightness. The Spurs haven’t announced whether either player is expected to miss multiple games.

San Antonio Spurs Starting Lineup

With Aldridge sidelined, expect the Spurs to elevate Jakob Poeltl to the starting lineup. The other four starters (Dejounte Murray, Lonnie Walker IV, DeMar DeRozan and Keldon Johnson) will likely remain the same.

Off the bench, the Spurs will likely replace Poeltl with either Drew Eubanks or Trey Lyles. Which player head coach Gregg Popovich goes with will probably depend on matchups. Against a traditional center, Eubanks would be the choice. Against a mobile player, Lyles would get the nod.

Minnesota Timberwolves Injury Update

The Timberwolves won’t be at full health either. Karl-Anthony Towns is out as he recovers from COVID-19. Towns is unquestionably Minnesota’s best player.

D’Angelo Russell, arguably the T’Wolves second best player, is questionable for tonight’s game due to bruised quad.

Spurs vs. Timberwolves – How the Spurs Can Win

The Spurs really need to win this game. After two bad losses, they can’t afford to drop a game to a Timberwolves squad without the services of Towns.

To win, San Antonio will need to forget about what happened against the Grizzlies and come out with boundless effort and enthusiasm. If that happens, they should have the talent to overwhelm whatever Minnesota throws at them.