Game Thread: San Antonio Spurs at New Orleans Pelicans

Yesterday at 06:30 PM

The Rodeo Road Trip resumes with a two game series in New Orleans

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This is the kind of late season game the league probably hates, a contest between two teams at the bottom of the standings that aren't going anywhere—with few marketable players on the court. With Victor Wembanyama gone for the season, the only widely recognizable star playing in tonight's game will be Zion Williamson, who is fun to watch, but has never had that much impact on winning, mostly due to his inability to stay on the court.

With their best player recovering from a serious medical issue, the Spurs will be transitioning to a player development mode, with winning being secondary to putting players in position to learn skills that could help the team win in the future. Does that mean less playing time for Chris Paul and more time for Stephon Castle? From a fan standpoint, most people would want to see that, but fans don't see a lot of the work that players and coaches do in non-game situations. Although winning won't be a priority for the rest of the season for the organization, the players will still be out there playing as hard as they can to win games, and this two game series in New Orleans, tonight and Tuesday, will provide one of the better opportunities for the Silver and Black to gather a few more wins on the season before they face a gauntlet of playoff-bound teams fighting for higher seeds for most of their remaining games.

If you're a fair weather fan, you might want to consider whether it will be a good time to check out for the rest of this season, because tough times are coming. But if you love the Spurs win or lose, keep watching, because there are 28 games left to play, and I guarantee that there are going to be some fun performances to watch if you look for the development of individual players. I'm going to keep my eyes on Castle, who has proven that he's a stud and will be a great player in this league. Let's go Spurs.

Game Prediction:

The Spurs will use the disabled player exemption to sign three kids in a trenchcoat to replace Victor Wembanyama.

One final word:

GO SPURS GOOOO!!!

San Antonio Spurs at New Orleans Pelicans
February 23, 2025 | 6:00 PM CT
Streaming: NBA League Pass
TV: Fanduel Sports Southwest

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