San Antonio Spurs at Philadelphia 76ers: Predictions, Injuries, Key Matchups, More

The San Antonio Spurs continue their four game road trip tonight against the Philadelphia 76ers.

The game is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. CT and will be televised on Fox Sports Southwest. The game can also be heard on the radio on WOAI 1200 AM.

How will San Antonio fare against Philadelphia? We take a look at recent history, injuries, and key matchups to predict the outcome of the game!

Recent Games

San Antonio Spurs

The San Antonio Spurs head into this game coming off a 111-89 victory last night over the Boston Celtics. The win gave the Spurs their seventh straight and the 10th in their last 11 games.

San Antonio has been blazing through opponents as of late and they are a team no one wants a part of. The team’s offense has been especially hot as of late. After struggling with three’s early on, the Spurs have raised their percentage from deep to 36.5%, putting them in the top third of the league.

Philadelphia 76ers

The Philadelphia 76ers come into this game the same way they did when they played the San Antonio Spurs earlier this season, win-less. The 76ers find themselves at the bottom of the league at a perfect 0-16, perfect as in they have yet to win.

Philadelphia lost its last outing at home to the Dallas Mavericks 110-103. That is not too awful of a loss,especially at home, and should serve as a confidence booster as the team searches for their first win of the season.

Injuries

San Antonio Spurs

Tim Duncan, Power Forward – Duncan is expected to miss tonight’s game to rest. This is not surprising since he played the first game of a back to back last night. Look for his minutes to go to Matt Bonner and Jeff Ayres.

Patty Mills, Point Guard – Mills is still healing from surgery on his torn rotator cuff. Expect his minutes to go to Cory Joseph.

Tony Parker, Point Guard – Parker is suffering from a broken rib that will cause him to miss his first game of the season.  Look for his minutes and his start to go the way of Cory Joseph. Also look for Kyle Anderson to potentially pick up some minutes at the point.

Tiago Splitter, Center – Splitter re-aggravated his right calf injury in the game against the Hawks and is expected to miss tonight’s game. Look for Boris Diaw and Matt Bonner to pick up his minutes.

Philadelphia 76ers

Joel Embiid, Center – The 76ers 2014 first round draft is expected to be out until early 2015 or later to recover from a stress fracture in his foot. This does not really change Philadelphia’s rotation plans as they have been without the center the whole season.

Nerlens Noel, Power Forward – Noel is dealing with a right hip pointer. He is considered probable for tonight’s game. Look for Brandon Davies to get some extended minutes if Noel is unable to go.

Tony Wroten, Point Guard – Wroten is expected to miss a week after suffering a knee sprain on Wednesday in a home loss to Brooklyn. Expect K.J. McDaniels to get the start tonight with Wroten out.

Key Matchups

Tonight’s key matchup is a battle at the point guard position. The San Antonio Spurs’ Cory Joseph and the Philadelphia 76ers’ Michael Carter-Williams are expected to face-off tonight and it should be interesting. While this is not the most flashiest lineup, it’s really the only key matchup to pick with so many key players expected to be out tonight. Carter-Williams is one of the games emerging star point guards, winning rookie of the year last season, and Joseph is expected to make his first start of the season tonight.

Prediction

I would have given this game to the Philadelphia 76ers had they had a full team, however, short-handed it’s tough to see Philly pulling this one out. The 76ers will win eventually it’s just that tonight is not the night the team’s win-less run will end.

Expect the San Antonio Spurs to continue their theme of blowouts tonight and take it to a reeling 76ers team. I also expect Gregg Popovich will have something to complain about after the victory.

Next: Spurs Player Grades in Win Over Celtics