Game Preview: San Antonio Spurs vs. New Orleans Pelicans
De’Aaron Fox is set to make his long-awaited season debut on Saturday as the San Antonio Spurs host the injury-depleted New Orleans Pelicans. This matchup comes on the second night of a back-to-back for San Antonio, while New Orleans last played on Wednesday.
Despite the Pelicans’ injury list, the Spurs must remain alert. Undermanned teams often surprise their opponents, and a sluggish performance in this tune-up would hurt San Antonio’s growing credibility after a challenging start to the season.
Injury Reports
- Spurs: To be announced by 1 PM
- Pelicans:
- Zion Williamson (left hamstring strain) — out
- Dejounte Murray (Achilles) — out
- Yves Missi (illness) — out
- Jordan Poole (left quad strain) — out
- Hunter Dickinson (G League) — out
- Trey Alexander (G League) — out
Fox and Wembanyama’s Offensive Impact
San Antonio won’t overly focus their offense around Fox, but he is expected to play a key role within their system. His intelligent movement off Stephon Castle’s drives should create easy scoring chances from the baseline and slot.
Although Victor Wembanyama averages just one screen assist per game, the Spurs are likely to raise their pick-and-roll and hand-off frequency to better utilize Fox’s speed and control in half-court sets. Meanwhile, Harrison Barnes should benefit from open corner looks when Fox and Wembanyama operate in two-man actions.
“It wouldn’t be very Spurs-like for them to force-feed Fox, but he will get plenty of burn playing within the offense.”
Author’s Summary
De’Aaron Fox’s season debut gives San Antonio a valuable test against an injured but unpredictable New Orleans squad, making this game an early gauge of the Spurs’ offensive rhythm and focus.