Blazers Injury Report: Portland Could Miss Two Key Wings vs Spurs

Both clubs are mostly healthy — but not entirely.

Nov 29, 2024; Portland, Oregon, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard Anfernee Simons (1) reacts with teammates forward Toumani Camara (33), left, and guard Dalano Banton (5) during the first half against the Sacramento Kings at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images / Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

When the 14-13 San Antonio Spurs host the 9-18 Portland Trail Blazers in the Frost Bank Center starting at 5:30 p.m. PT on Saturday night, both (currently) lottery-bound clubs will find themselves more or less whole, in a bit of a rarity for each this season.

Per the league's most recent injury report, both teams will be without all of their two-way players (small forward Justin Minaya, shooting guard Taze Moore and shooting guard Bryce McGowens for Portland; combo guard David Duke Jr., small forward Harrison Ingram, and small forward Riley Minix for San Antonoi) — who will be developing with their respective NBAGL affiliates, the Rip City Remix and Austin Spurs.

Beyond that, San Antonio's injury sheet is clean.

On the Portland side, only former two-time All-Defensive Team shooting guard/small forward Matisse Thybulle is definitively on the shelf, as he has been all year. He ostensibly has a few weeks left until his sprained right ankle is set to be reassessed, meaning there's a chance the Trail Blazers can at least rehabilitate the oft-hurt wing's trade value heading towards the February 6 trade deadline. Earlier this week, Portland head coach Chauncey Billups revealed that Thybulle had begun shooting again, though he has yet to work through contact practices.

Troublingly, emerging Trail Blazers fan favorite small forward Dalano Banton is listed as questionable due to a left hip contusion. We'll know his status soon enough. The 6-foot-9 Nebraska product has appeared in 24 bouts for Portland this year, and although he's playing a reduced role compared to his function on the 2023-24 vintage of the team, he's still averaging 9.8 points on .422/.365/.667 shooting splits, 2.6 assists, 2.3 rebounds and 0.9 steals a night.

The Trail Blazers have fallen on some tough sledding of late, having gone just 2-8 across their last 10 games. Their last bout, at least, was a shocking victory against supposed MVP contender Nikola Jokic's Denver Nuggets, who fell to a game-winning Anfernee Simons buzzer beater.

San Antonio, meanwhile, has gone 5-5 recently, but just this week is finally fully healthy for the first time all year, per Michael C. Wright of ESPN.

“It felt like a big relief,” second-year Spurs center Victor Wembanyama said. “Even before the [Spurs' 133-126 win against the Atlanta Hawks Thursday, their first fully healthy bout], I think some of my teammates were still questionable. So we were like, ‘Is it the day, finally?'”

Per sportsbook aggregator The Action Network, the Spurs are 3.5-point favorites over the visiting Trail Blazers on Saturday night.

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