Subscribe
Follow Us
Devin Vassell has missed six out of the last seven games for the San Antonio Spurs due to a knee injury. The same has been the case for Jeremy Sochan, who is also dealing with a knee issue, except that the 19-year-old has been forced to sit out seven straight contests for San Antonio. At this point, it seems that we've seen the last of both players this season.
On Thursday, Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich all but confirmed the team's plan to have Vassell and Sochan sit out their last two remaining games — Saturday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves, and a matchup against the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday. It is worth noting that both the Wolves and the Mavs are still fighting for their place in the Play-In picture out West so Minnesota and Dallas fans will want to keep an eye on this development.
As such, it could be considered good news for Wolves and Mavs fans to hear that according to coach Pop, it's going to be “tough” for both Vassell and Sochan to return to the court this season:
“Jeremy has got his knee problem and so does Devin Vassell,” Popovich said, via Spurs reporter Tom Osborn of the San Antonio Express-News. “… There are legitimate medical reasons why some guys aren't playing very much at the end of the year.”
Above all, however, it seems that the most legitimate reason for the Spurs to sit their key players out has a lot to do with Victor Wembanyama. Simply put, San Antonio has been trying to lose as many games as it can in order to improve its odds of landing the No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming 2023 NBA Draft. At the moment, the Houston Rockets (20-60) and the Detroit Pistons (16-64) are the biggest threats to the same for the Spurs and their 21-59 record.
