Preview: San Antonio Spurs at Golden State Warriors – Game #77
Keita Bates-Diop will likely start for the Spurs once again (Photo via Twitter)
The countdown to the end of the season has begun for the San Antonio Spurs, who are the not-so-proud owners of a five-game losing streak. After the Spurs play the Golden State Warriors tonight, the Silver and Black will only have five more games before the 2022-23 campaign is over.
The final game at the AT&T Center took place on Wednesday, with San Antonio losing 128-117 versus the Utah Jazz. The Spurs technically have two more home games but both of those games will be played in Austin. Tonight’s contest against the Warriors is the first leg of a difficult three-game road trip. After playing Golden State, San Antonio takes on the Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Suns.
The Warriors have a record of 40-37 and they’ve won four of their previous five contests. Despite their pedestrian overall record, Golden State has been great at home this season. Their home record of 31-8 is the third best mark in the entire league. Only the Denver Nuggets (32-7) and Memphis Grizzlies (33-6) sport better records at home.
San Antonio Spurs Injury Update
The injury bugs are still buzzing. Two starters are out for the Spurs against the Warriors. Starting center Zach Collins is sidelined due to left foot injury management, while starting power forward Jeremy Sochan is out with right knee soreness.
Two more starters are questionable. Keldon Johnson is iffy due to left foot soreness and Devin Vassell is iffy due to left knee injury management.
Two key bench players are also questionable: Doug McDermott and Romeo Langford. McDermott has right elbow soreness and Langford is questionable due to left adductor injury management.
San Antonio Spurs Starting Lineup
We can safely predict that head coach Gregg Popovich will start Tre Jones at point guard, Sandro Mamukelashvili at center and Keita Bates-Diop at power forward. If Keldon Johnson and Devin Vassell are able to play, expect both of them to start. If only one of them can play, expect Malaki Branham to be the replacement starter. If both Johnson and Vassell sit out, expect Branham and most likely Julian Champagnie to be inserted into the starting lineup.
Victor Wembanyama Watch
At 19-57, the Spurs have the third worst record in the league. However, the two teams with worse records square off tonight in Houston when the Rockets host the Detroit Pistons. The Rockets have a record of 18-59, while the Pistons have a record of 16-60.
San Antonio will likely be rooting for the Houston to win. If that happens, both the Spurs and the Rockets will have 19 wins on the season and that’d give the Silver and Black hope of finishing with the second worst record in the association.
Betting Guide: Spurs at Warriors
As expected, the Warriors are huge favorites over the Spurs tonight. Golden State is favored by 18.5 points and the over/under is at 241 points. The smart money is on the Warriors winning by 19 or more points. Due to injuries and poor play by the Spurs lately, it’s highly likely that the Warriors cruise to a rather large victory this evening.