Built for the Injury Bug: The Spurs' Depth Is Their Answer While the Thunder Lose Williams and Wallace and Minnesota Loses Edwards
Oklahoma City is without Jalen Williams and Cason Wallace, Minnesota will be without Anthony Edwards for months — and Air Alamo's Thursday read is that San Antonio's summer depth-building is exactly the cushion those rivals do not have.
The early season's defining opponent may be the injury report. Some of the Spurs' biggest rivals are already scratching important players: the Oklahoma City Thunder will be without Jalen Williams and Cason Wallace for some time, and the Minnesota Timberwolves — who visit the Frost Bank Center on Saturday — will be without Anthony Edwards, whose knee problems will keep him sidelined over the next few months, Air Alamo reported Thursday.
San Antonio's answer, the report argues, was built in the summer: a roster constructed to survive a stretch without one of its stars. The proof it cites is recent. Early last season, Victor Wembanyama missed a set of games with lower-body issues and was out for nearly a month, and the Spurs still posted a winning record behind De'Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper and others. In the playoffs, Wembanyama missed Game 2 of the Portland series with a concussion, and Castle and Harper combined for 60 points to give the Spurs a 2-1 series lead on the road.
The depth is still arriving. Tarris Reed Jr. has shown solid early flashes off the bench, and once Tobias Harris returns from his calf injury, the report notes, he can help keep the offense flowing if Wembanyama, Fox, Harper or Castle misses time. The Spurs, 3-2 and winners of three straight after Wednesday's overtime win at Utah, host Minnesota on Saturday night — the first test of the theory against a contender playing without its best player.
