Game thread: Toronto Raptors at San Antonio Spurs
A Texas trip tips off against the surprising Spurs, who are off to one of their best starts in a storied franchise history.
The San Antonio Spurs may be off to the league’s most surprising start outside of Utah, but the main focus for Toronto Raptors fans will be on their side of the court — as a major off-season acquisition makes his debut. That’s right! Otto Porter Jr. is here!
Looks like Otto Porter Jr. will be available tonight vs. Spurs.
— Kayla Grey (@Kayla_Grey) November 2, 2022
The last couple of games, he was listed as our for personal reasons. The personal reason: the birth of his daughter. He shared with me this morning both baby and his wife Natalie are doing fine.
Porter Jr. started the season nursing a hamstring injury before starting a new “personal” designation on the injury report. It’s an absolute delight to see that those reasons were good ones and, of course, our small team at HQ congratulates him on the birth of his daughter!
There’s often bad news with the good, though, and for the Raptors tonight that’s the fact they’ll again be without Fred VanVleet. Still dealing with back soreness, VanVleet will be replaced in the starting lineup with Christian Koloko. What does it mean? More Point Scottie(!) against a lanky Spurs team that’s built a new appreciation for shooting the three.
It promises to be a fun matchup in Texas to start a two-step through the state. Here are the game details.
Where to Watch:
TSN, 8 PM ET
Lineups:
Toronto – Scottie Barnes, Gary Trent Jr., OG Anunoby, Pascal Siakam, Christian Koloko
San Antonio – Tre Jones, Josh Richardson, Jeremy Sochan, Romeo Langford, Jakob Poeltl
Injuries:
Toronto – Fred VanVleet (back – out)
San Antonio – Keldon Johnson (calf – out), Isaiah Roby (illness – out), Devin Vassell (out – knee), Blake Wesley (MCL tear – out)