San Antonio Spurs: Joffrey Lauvergne injures ankle vs. Raptors

The San Antonio Spurs lost Joffrey Lauvergne to a sprained ankle in Monday night’s game.

Joffrey Lauvergne entered his third game for the San Antonio Spurs on Monday night, as they played the Toronto Raptors. He’s acted as the primary backup big man off the bench, providing energy and activity under the basket.

Well, during the Raptors game, Lauvergne left with an injury. He sprained his ankle in the fourth quarter. The Spurs followed with an official announcement, that he would not return to the game. Not a surprise, given how late it happened and in just the third game of the regular season.

The severity of Lauvergne’s injury is unknown.

Joffrey Lauvergne (sprained right ankle) will not return to tonight's Spurs-Raptors game.

— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) October 24, 2017

This will potentially be something the Spurs update on Monday evening or Tuesday afternoon, with the next game on Wednesday, Oct. 25 against the Miami Heat. If the Frenchman can’t play, then it should lead to a rotation change or two.

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Davis Bertans played just four minutes in the first three games, but potentially stands to benefit from Lauvergne’s injury. He’s an extra big body that won’t do the dirty work, but at least matches up in size to other power forwards.

Rudy Gay may see more minutes at the stretch four, too. He’s averaged around 23 minutes per game through the first three contests, and could see that rise by one or two.

The interesting one is Pau Gasol. He played for just two-and-a-half quarters against Toronto, last getting time in the middle of the third period. Does that mean he receives late-game action?

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Then again, this speculation won’t mean anything if Lauvergne’s ankle isn’t as bad as it looked. Stay tuned for the next update.