Spurs injury report: Wemby's status and core players set to miss Kings game

When the San Antonio Spurs announced that Victor Wembanyama would miss the game against Chicago, it wasn't a far leap to assume he'd sit out the next game since it's a back-to-back. That's not exactly what the Spurs' have announced with the latest injury report, but it's close. Wemby is doubtful for tonight's game due to lower back soreness, but he's not the only one on the report.

Vassell and Jones will miss the Kings game

Devin Vassell will miss tonight's rematch with the Sacramento Kings. The organization has been playing things safer than ever with injury management. They had already said they wouldn't allow Vassell to play in both games in back-to-backs while he gets reacclimated. After the Bulls loss, the fourth-year guard stated his desire to play, but clearly, he lost that battle.

Tre Jones will also miss the game. He'll be out for the third consecutive game since injuring his shoulder in the last Kings game. Jones will be out for a few weeks, further dragging out the delay in seeing the Spurs' full complement of players on the court for the same game.

They'll have their work cut out for them against a Sacramento team that's looking to even the score after dropping the last two matchups with the Silver and Black. Especially after how close they came to taking the last one. It took a Herculean effort from Wemby to pull it out, and they might be without the Alien tonight.

Spurs injury bug is costing them precious games

San Antonio's schedule has been fairly light recently and looks to stay that way for a reasonable portion of December, but that won't continue forever. Winning tonight's game will be like climbing up a hill of quicksand if they don't have their two best players unless the Kings come out and lay a complete stinker. That's not something one can really count on.

The Western Conference has as much parity as ever, but the teams are all still very good. They began the season by beating all the teams with lower league records. Good teams beat the teams they are supposed to beat, and we weren't quite sure if the Spurs were a good team before the season began, but we have since co-opted the idea and don't want to relinquish it.

They'll have to dig deep and get back on the winning track to make sure that's the case. As far as injuries are concerned, the Kings are relatively healthy, minus ex-Spurs forward Trey Lyles. He's out due to a calf strain, but other than that, they're ready to go.

It doesn't sound like Wembanyama's back issue is a serious one, but it makes sense to exercise more caution than you otherwise would when your team isn't a title contender. There's no need to run your players into the ground for what you know will be an early playoff exit, and that's if you can make it at all.

The Spurs don't have another back-to-back for the rest of the month, so hopefully, guys can get healthy and play the games. By the time the next quick turnaround happens, Vassell should be released from restrictions. The fans want to see him play almost as much as he wants to get back on the court, and the Silver and Black need him with consistency to reach their peak.

Update: 6:11 PM

Victor Wembanyama is OUT, per Spurs. It will be his 5th missed game of the season.