Spurs start road trip with two key injuries

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The San Antonio Spurs kick off their annual Rodeo Road Trip on Wednesday in Minnesota against the Timberwolves. On such a long, grueling road trip I’m sure Coach Pop would like to be as close to full strength as possible.

It’s not going to start out that way.

Everybody who saw Tim Duncan go down against Washington knew that he was going to be out for a while. Right now he’s listed as day-to-day, but I’m sure Spurs fans will agree that there’s no need to rush him back. Having the best record in the NBA is great, but the possibility of dropping a few games to have a healthy Duncan return is much more important. TD has missed six games so far this year.

Manu Ginobili is also dealing with some injury issues. Ginobili is listed as doubtful for Wednesday’s game with tightness in his left hamstring. Ginobili has already missed nine games this season and it looks like he’ll be adding a couple more to that total. 

The Spurs will get a chance to showcase their depth to kick off the Rodeo Road Trip. The loss of Ginobili won’t be too devastating because of all the guards ready to step in and fill that role. The Spurs called up Aron Baynes from Austin to help fill in for Duncan. He should get some solid minutes and we’ll finally get to see what he’s capable of.

Neither of the injuries to Duncan or Ginobili seem too severe, so the Spurs will hopefully be back to full strength in just a few games (knock on wood). In the meantime, be on the lookout for other players to step up in their absence.