Spurs Nuggets Preview: Will Wembanyama Play in MVP Battle Against Jokic?

SAN ANTONIO - The Spurs have beaten five playoff teams in a row on this homestand following the Rodeo Road Trip, and they'll face another tough test against one of the West's best when the Denver Nuggets come to town.

It should be a big-man battle between the world's best player for a few years running and the youngster poised to take his place, but the Spurs' MVP candidate is a little banged up and might not go. San Antonio announced that Victor Wembanyama is questionable for this game with a sore right ankle after scoring 39 in the win over Boston.

The Nuggets, meanwhile, thoroughly dominated the Rockets last night in Denver by a score of 129-93. Nikola Jokic notched his 25th triple-double of the season, and was the only Nugget to play 30 minutes or more. Jamal Murray is listed as probable, while Aaron Gordon is questionable.

Jokic has already missed 16 games this season, meaning he can only sit out for one more and remain eligible for postseason awards. Wembanyama has a bit more wiggle room. He's got credit for 52 games played including the NBA Cup Final which otherwise doesn't count toward regular season statistics, meaning he must play in 13 of San Antonio's remaining 17 regular season games to qualify for MVP, DPOY, and All-NBA honors.

San Antonio did get some good news on the injury front, as Harrison Barnes has been upgraded to questionable after missing the last five games with a left ankle impingement.

Denver is widely regarded as a top-3 team in the league even though they're fifth in the West right now. Part of that is because seeds 3 through 6 are separated by just a half a game (2015 Spurs fans look away), the other part is that the Nuggets have barely had their big three of Jokic, Jamal Murray, and Aaron Gordon healthy at the same time. They're all relatively healthy now as the Nuggets make their push.

Gordon specifically is an X-factor for Denver who can really change things for their leaky defense and provide all sorts of complimentary scoring. The size and strength that he and Jokic bring could present challenges for a Spurs team that has plenty of length and versatility, but doesn't really have a wing defender with the requisite size to bother either of those guys in the post. The surging Carter Bryant may be called upon a little extra, but he doesn't start.

If Wembanyama sits out, the matchup math probably gets a little easier for San Antonio. Luke Kornet would start and do his best to limit Jokic down low. Kornet will be important for San Antonio in this one whether Wembanyama plays or not. If he does, we may see a heavier dose of the French Vanilla lineup with both of them sharing the floor.

If Wembanyama gets the green light, San Antonio may prefer to have him roam the back line while someone with a lower center of gravity tries to stop Jokic from getting there.

Would San Antonio dare guard Jokic with their point guard? In the words of Pistachio Disguisey, it's crazy... so crazy it just... might... work.

6-foot-6 and strong like bull, Stephon Castle has routinely guarded the other team's best player, from little guards to big wings. Putting him on a center who wants to post up might be pushing his limits, but that's a good thing to do in the regular season and Mitch Johnson has done it before. Switching him onto Alperen Sengun and letting Wemby rove off of Amen Thompson flipped that game against the Rockets in January. Of course, Jokic is a bit better than Baby Jokic.

Sticking Castle or another smaller defender on Jokic would require help from Wembanyama in the paint, and that will require San Antonio's wing defenders to be communicative and connected on the perimeter. Murray, Gordon, and Jokic can all hit 3s at above league average efficiency, and they're surrounded by guys like Tim Hardaway Jr., Cameron Johnson, and Christian Braun who can all punish defenses.

The Nuggets put on a ball movement clinic last night against a floundering Rockets defense, with 36 assists as a team and 17-32 (53%) from 3 as they created open shot after open shot.

Speaking of those Rockets, the Spurs' offensive gameplan against Houston could be deployed against the Nuggets with similar success. San Antonio put Sengun in as many pick and rolls as possible, and they should try to do the same to Jokic who has similar struggles with defending in space.

Every win is important for the Nuggets as they try to get to the top of that 3-6 mess. The Spurs are 8 games above that and would need a monumental collapse to relinquish the 2 seed to any of those teams. They're just 2.5 back of the Thunder for the league's best record. OKC plays the Celtics tonight, though Boston may be missing some key players in that one.

Including tonight, the Spurs and Nuggets play three more times before the end of the season. San Antonio won the first matchup 139-136, a Cup game in Denver without Wembanyama.

WHO:

Denver Nuggets (40-26, W1)
San Antonio Spurs (48-17, W5)

WHEN:

Thursday, March 12 (Tipoff 8 p.m. Central)

WHERE:

Frost Bank Center, San Antonio, Texas

HOW TO WATCH:

FanDuel Sports Network

INJURY REPORT:

SAS:

Victor Wembanyama (right ankle soreness) - QUESTIONABLE
Harrison Barnes (left ankle impingement) - QUESTIONABLE
Lindy Waters III (illness) - QUESTIONABLE
David Jones Garcia (ankle) - OUT
Harrison Ingram (G-League, Two-Way) - OUT
Emanuel Miller (G-League, Two-Way) - OUT

DEN:

Aaron Gordon (hamstring) - QUESTIONABLE
Jamal Murray - (ankle) - PROBABLE
Peyton Watson (hamstring) - OUT
KJ Simpson (G-League, Two-Way) - OUT
Curtis Jones (G-League, Two-Way) - OUT
DaRon Holmes II (G-League, Two-Way) - OUT