The San Antonio Spurs are reportedly determined to finish their stellar regular-season campaign on a winning note against the Denver Nuggets on Sunday.
While the Spurs have the second seed locked up, they stand to benefit from the win as they’d avoid a matchup with Nikola Jokic and Co. in the second round of the playoffs. That’s because the Nuggets will drop to the fourth seed in the final standings, setting themselves up for a brutal second-round matchup with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Spurs, meanwhile, will essentially coast into the Conference Finals after potentially beating the Phoenix Suns and then the Los Angeles Lakers or the Minnesota Timberwolves, while dodging Denver, a team they’ve lost to twice in the past month.
Spurs Won’t Rest Starters
As on Sunday morning, Victor Wembanyama (rib), Devin Vassell (rib), and Stephon Castle (foot) were listed as questionable, but several NBA insiders expect the Spurs to treat the season finale seriously — given the aforementioned playoff stakes.
“The Spurs now have huge incentive to go beat Denver on Sunday,” wrote Spurs beat writer Dusty Garza.
ESPN’s Tim Bontemps also believes the Spurs want to beat the Nuggets on Sunday.
“The Spurs are playing most of their players, and have every incentive to win and have Denver, which clearly isn’t interested in winning, finish fourth,” Bontemps wrote.
Wembanyama said after Friday’s win against the Dallas Mavericks that his status for Sunday’s game would be determined by where other teams could finish in the standings. The Frenchman has already met the NBA’s 65-game criteria and, technically, has no incentive to play against the Nuggets while he deals with a rib injury.
Nuggets Tanking 3rd Seed?
“We don’t know what’s going to happen around the league,” Wemby said on Friday when asked if he would suit up for Sunday’s finale against the Nuggets.
The Spurs’ desire to face the Lakers or Timberwolves in the second round seems to be shared by the Nuggets, who are resting most of their main guys on Sunday.
Jokic, who needs log another 15 minutes to remain eligible for end-of-season awards, is widely expected to log the requisite playing time and sit out against the Spurs.
“Nuggets are OK with losing tomorrow, dropping to the 4 seed, and hosting Houston in Round 1. They’d be on OKC’s side of the bracket,” wrote beat writer Harrison Wind.
For what it’s worth, the Lakers are now the betting favorites to finish as the third seed.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Major Update on Spurs Lineup for Nuggets Season Finale on Sunday appeared first on Heavy Sports.