The San Antonio Spurs are entering a strange stretch of their season to start the new year. After defeating the Indiana Pacers, 123-113 in Indianapolis, they’ll travel back to San Antonio for a matchup
with the Portland Trail Blazers on the second game of a back-to-back. It’s the first of three series of back-to-back games the Spurs will play in a row this month, ending with a game in Minnesota against the Timberwolves on January 11th.
The Spurs head into that stretch with some bumps and bruises. Victor Wembanyama’s status for the game against Portland is unknown. He missed Friday night’s contest against the Pacers, but is day-to-day after a knee injury. Devin Vassell is still nursing an adductor strain. Their opponent on Saturday, the Blazers, is also dealing with their fair share of injuries. Jrue Holiday, Jerami Grant, and former Spur Blake Wesley all missed their Friday night win over the New Orleans Pelicans.
San Antonio pulled out a 115-102 victory against the Blazers the last time they faced each other on November 26th. That was also a Wemby-less game for the Spurs, who were led by De’Aaron Fox’s 37 points. Deni Advija matched that point total for Portland in a dominant scoring performance. Advija has elevated himself into the All-Star conversation this season for the Blazers. He just scored 34 points in Portland’s Friday night victory.
Portland is surging in the Western Conference standings, as they’ve won three of their last five games. The Spurs will have their hands full on short rest when the Blazers come to town.
San Antonio Spurs (25-9) vs. Portland Trail Blazers (15-20)
January 3, 2025 | 7 PM CT
Watch: Fan Duel | Listen: WOAI (1200 AM)
Spurs Injuries: Not available until 1 pm CT
Trail Blazers Injuries: Not available until 1 pm CT
What to watch for:
Guard play
Portland doesn’t necessarily play a true point guard thanks to their injury woes. Instead, Thiago Splitter goes with bigger lineups that rely on dribble penetration from Advija and Shaedon Sharpe. That leaves the team open to turnovers. The Blazers turn the ball over more than any other team in the league, 17.5 times a game. San Antonio’s guards have been their strongest asset with Wembanyama out. They should have a true advantage against Portland in this regard. They’ll need to bother the Blazers ball handlers and value possessions themselves to give the Spurs an edge.
Sizing up
The Blazers are a big, physical team that crashes the glass hard. They are second in the NBA in offensive rebounds, grabbing 14.2 a game. Donovan Clingan is a monster on the glass and a true rim protector in the paint. If Wembanyama plays, the Spurs shouldn’t have an issue. If he sits, Luke Kornet and Kelly Olynyk will have their hands full inside against the Blazers’ bigs. It’s not just the big men who are the issue, though. Portland throws out a litany of long, athletic wings like Toumani Camara, Sidy Cissoko, Kris Murray, and Rayan Rupert. The Spurs may need to play bigger lineups to match up with Portland’s size.
Hitting threes
Make more threes, win the game. Is basketball really that simple? It sure seems like it right now. San Antonio has seen a lot of success when their threes are falling, and has sputtered a bit when they don’t. The Blazers are not a good three-point shooting team. They shoot 33.7% from deep as a team. San Antonio can bury Portland if they’re hitting from deep. The Spurs are in an overall shooting slump right now. Saturday night could be the night to break out of it.
