Game Preview: San Antonio Spurs at Atlanta Hawks

The moment everyone has been waiting for is finally here. Wednesday night De’Aaron Fox will make his San Antonio Spurs debut against Atlanta Hawks. It marks the first game in a new era with Spurs -Basketball, which runs through the fast Point Guard and Victor Wembanyama. It also starts with a team that is ironically tied to the fate of this iteration of silver and black.

Hawks owe Spurs their first round in 2025 and 2027. These assets are what could eventually make San Antonio a championship athlete. Winning games against them to improve the value of these choices is always a good thing. Hawks are fighting right now and losing eight of their last nine matches. Atlanta deals with damage to key pills such as Jalen Johnson, Clint Capela and Bogdan Bogdanovic.

Still, this Hawks team is feisty, and Trae Young always plays up for Spurs. It will be a good test for this new look spurs team.

5. February 2025 | 18:00 ct

See: ESPN | Hear: Woai (1200 AM)

Spurs damage: Charles Bassey – Out (MCL SCPRUIT), Riley Minix – Out (G League), Chris Paul – Question (Finger Spray)

Hawks damage: Bogdan Bogdanovic – Out (Not With Team), Kobe Bufkin – Out (Shoulder), Clint Capela – Out (Back Spasms), Jalen Johnson – Out (Shoulder), Daeqwon Plowdon – Specturable (G League), Trae Young – Probably ( Probable (Achilles Tendinitis), Cody Zeller – Out (not with Team)

What to look at:

Fox’s fit

It’s a game, but there may be signs of how Fox fits with spurs immediately. Be careful how he operates in pick-and-roll with Wembanyama, or how he creates players like Devin Vassell for lighter triangles. His offensive gravity is likely to play a big role, but it may be even more interesting to see how he works defensively. With Wembanyama behind him and one of Jeremy Sochan or Stephon Castle working on the ball, he has free reign to jump passing lanes and try to create stealing. It’s easy to see him tracking in with Spurs’ current team, but it will be fascinating to watch it play out in real time.

Will Jordan McLaughlin play?

Chris Paul has been listed as questionable for Wednesday’s game. Assumes Fox and Castle Start and Paul sitting, leaving the newly acquired Jordan McLaughlin and Blake Wesley as the only backup point guard on the guard schedule. Spur’s head coach Mitch Johnson may want to look at the newly acquired McLaughlin in a bench role against Atlanta. His shooting would be a welcome addition to a bench that has struggled to hit from deep. If nothing else, he will bring a veteran presence to help stabilize the team when Fox is off the field.

Backup Center -min

Charles Bassey went down with a apparent knee injury in Spurs Monday night loss to Memphis Grizzlies. Without him, it leaves Sochan as de facto backup “Center.” Fortunately for the sprouts, ATLANTA is missing a certain size inside. Onyeka Okongwu is likely to start in the middle and stand on only 6-foot-8. Hawks’ Backup Bigs, Dominick Barlow and Larry Nance Jr. are both under -dimensioned centers as well. Johnson will once again ask Sochan to step up and play big in the other unit and not be surprised if Sandro Mamukelashvili also plays somewhere minutes.