The San Antonio Spurs just can’t catch a break this week.
It started with getting throttled by the Brooklyn Nets on Monday, followed by a collapse in the final minute to lose to the New York Knicks on Wednesday. Thursday, the team released that Devin Vassell is going to be out indefinitely while he gets a procedure done on his left knee. In handling the Detroit Pistons 121-109 for a win on Friday night, San Antonio (13-26) lost Keldon Johnson in the first half of the game with a hamstring injury that the organization has yet to provide an update on. Now on Saturday, they complete the back-to-back with the Boston Celtics who own the best record in the NBA at 27-12. Spurs vs Celtics tips off at 5 p.m. CT at the AT&T Center in San Antonio with Boston favored by 13 points.
Spurs vs Celtics Game Information
- When: Saturday, January 7, 2023
- Start Time: 5 p.m. CT
- Location: AT&T Center – San Antonio, Texas
- Spurs TV Channel: KENS 5
- Spurs Radio Broadcast: 1200 WOAI AM (English) / 1350 AM KXTN (Spanish)
Game Odds
- Moneyline: Spurs (-900) | Pistons (+625)
- Over/Under: 234 (-110)
- Spread: Celtics -13 (-105)
Spurs vs Celtics Injury Report
Both the Spurs and the Celtics enter Saturday’s contest with little action on the injury report. The only player out for Boston as of the morning is Danilo Gallinari (knee) who continues to miss time as he has since before the season. For San Antonio, Vassell (knee) isn’t coming back anytime soon as he is scheduled for an arthroscopic knee procedure next week that will keep him out indefinitely. Johnson’s game status is yet to be determined regarding the hamstring injury he sustained Friday night.
Spurs vs Celtics Preview
On Saturday night, the young San Antonio squad will face their third MVP candidate in four games. Boston’s Jayson Tatum has been been a force this season as he looks to lead the Celtics back to the NBA Finals. Fifth in the league in scoring (30.7 ppg), the former lottery pick has six games where he has scored 40 points or more. Of course, he isn’t doing it alone with Jaylen Brown’s name floating around the MVP conversation as well. The Celtics as a team are number one in scoring, and among the best in everything from limiting turnovers to assists.
For everything that Boston is, San Antonio is not. They are the league’s worst defense (120 ppg allowed) and one of the most turnover-prone units (16). The Spurs are in for quite the mental test. Beyond a strong offensive unit, the Celtics have a strong defense as well. Consider then that San Antonio could be without its top two scorers in Johnson and Vassell. Tre Jones and Josh Richardson held things down against the Pistons, and Romeo Langford has peppered in some big nights this season. Still, that hardly seems like enough if Johnson can’t play.
Friendly Connections
The Spurs and Celtics have done quite a bit of business together the last two years. As such, they will have some ties between the players on the court Saturday evening. Nearly a year ago, San Antonio traded Derrick White to Boston for Langford, Richardson, Boston’s 2022 first-round pick (Wesley), and the right to swap firsts in 2028. Even the sidelined Gallinari has a Spurs connection. He was part of the return from sending Dejounte Murray to the Atlanta Hawks over the summer. Gallinari was released by San Antonio shortly after and signed with Boston. The teams also did another deal just this week where the Spurs helped the Celtics clear some cap space. Paul Garcia of Project Spurs broke down the trade over on our YouTube channel.
