NBA Matchups: February 23

SAS @ DET | SAC @ MEM | UTA @ HOU

San Antonio Spurs at Detroit Pistons

Team Totals: Spurs 114.5, Pistons 116

Injury Report: Isaiah Stewart (O, suspension)

Spurs projected starters: De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, Devin Vassell, Julian Champagnie, Victor Wembanyama

Pistons projected starters: Cade Cunningham, Duncan Robinson, Ausar Thompson, Tobias Harris, Jalen Duren

Mitch quotes: Said they are looking forward to competitive games in this part of the schedule, said the Pistons play with a lot of toughness, said “you can’t get rich quick” and both the Pistons/Spurs didn’t skip steps, said the game is slowing down for Wemby and he is processing how he can dominate the game.

Bickerstaff quotes: Said they are consistent with their identity with rebounding and forcing turnovers, said the team always responds and Bickerstaff’s frustrations at times are a problem (was angry with team at half), said Ausar has such a big defensive impact, said Duren was “a dominant force on both ends of the floor.”

Stats and Notes: 

*What a game to start the day. The Spurs rank third in defense and the Pistons are second on the season, and Detroit’s defense has been incredible over their five-game winning streak at 102.9 points per 100 to lead the NBA. The Pistons are third in paint points allowed, while the Spurs are seventh, making it extremely tough for both teams to score inside. The San Antonio paint defense will be a bigger factor with the Pistons ranking second in paint points, while the Spurs are 11th. The Spurs are also an excellent transition defense, while the Pistons are just average there to go with their excellent halfcourt defense. Plus, the Spurs are a better transition offense, giving them a slight edge there. This is going to be a fun defensive game.

*Victor Wembanyama gets one of the toughest matchups possible with Jalen Duren set to guard him for most of his minutes. The Pistons haven’t allowed a 25-point average to a PF/C all year, and Nikola Jokic is the only C to score more than 20 per game against them. It’s about as tough as it gets for an alien.

*De’Aaron Fox should get the worst matchup with Ausar Thompson likely to guard him. Fox also isn’t driving as much at just 11.2 per game over his last 10, and his role just isn’t as strong when the Spurs are healthy. A very easy pass here.

*Stephon Castle will have his hands full on the defensive end guarding Cade Cunningham, and I’d expect Cade to guard Castle, too. Castle has been driving more than Fox over the last 10 games, and he’s fairly rested with only 25 minutes on Saturday (21 minutes on Thursday). Castle’s minutes were cut down at the end of the break, but he should be back to full with the time off. It’s far from ideal with the foul risk on Cade.

*The matchup should be somewhat OK for Devin Vassell, and there’s a chance that Cade guards him as well. Vassell’s usage has really been down lately, and his minutes haven’t been there, either. The Pistons can give up some C&S stuff, which bodes well for Vassell.

*Dylan Harper could get some usage off the bench, but the minutes aren’t going to be great because the Spurs will have to size up. I wouldn’t be excited about him or Julian Champagnie.