The San Antonio Spurs will hit the road to Atlanta to face the Hawks on Friday at the State Farm Arena in an East-West showdown. Spurs shrugged off their NBA Cup final defeat against the Knicks with a win over the Washington Wizards. Whereas the Hawks are approaching this game on the back of a defeat against the Hornets.  However, discussion ahead of the game remains limited to the availability of Victor Wembanyama and Trae Young.

The Spurs are having a solid season, currently fourth in the Western Conference with a 19-7 record, matching the Lakers, who also have a similar record. Mitch Johnson’s men have proven themselves by reaching the finals of the NBA Cup, and they will look to continue that momentum in regular-season games.

However, the Hawks are ninth in the East with a 15-13 record, mainly due to inconsistency, as they have won two out of their last five games.

Are Victor Wembanyama, Stephon Castle Playing Tonight? Latest Injury report on Spurs

It has been a tough season for Victor Wembanyama with incessant injuries. But whenever the French Phenom has featured, he has made a difference, most recently against the OKC Thunder in the NBA Cup semifinals.

Wembanyama is available for Friday’s away trip to Atlanta on the second night of back-to-back games.

However, he is on a minutes restriction and just like the games against the Knicks and the Wizards, he will come off the bench and play around 20 minutes.

In his 17-minute appearance against the Wizards, he recorded 15 points, eight boards and four dimes while shooting 6-out-of-11 from the floor. He did make an impact off the bench as the Spurs registered a dominant 119-94 win.

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Stephon Castle is another player extremely crucial to the San Antonio Spurs roster, and the young guard is available for this game against the Hawks. Castle has been leading San Antonio during the time Wemby was sidelined with injury.

Although De’Aaron Fox is the primary ball handler for the Spurs, Castle has also seen his stock rise this season, as he has improved in every metric after winning Rookie of the Year last season.

He is averaging 18.2 points, 5.8 rebounds and 6.9 assists while shooting 51.2% from the floor. Castle contributed 17 points and seven assists in their last win on Thursday.

San Antonio Spurs Injury Report

According to NBA injury reports, Mitch Johnson is extremely fortunate to have a fairly healthy roster. Only guard Kyle Mangas is out of contention for Friday’s game against the Hawks.

Are Trae Young, Kristaps Porzingis Playing Tonight? Latest Injury Report on Hawks

Meanwhile, things aren’t the same for the Atlanta Hawks, as their star player, Trae Young, will be rested on Friday against the Spurs, according to ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk. Young featured in the last game and is not expected to play in the second of his back-to-back.

He returned in the previous game after missing 22 games due to a sprained MCL. He recorded eight points and 10 assists in 20 minutes of action against the Charlotte Hornets.

The situation is similar for Kristaps Porzingis, as the big man is also out of Friday’s game against the Spurs with illness.

The Hawks had already announced that Porzingis would remain on the sidelines for two weeks as they undergo further evaluation of his illness. He has missed nine of the last 11 games this season.

Atlanta Hawks Injury Report

Apart from the two All-Stars, there are no other major injury absentees for the Atlanta Hawks in Friday’s home game against the San Antonio Spurs.

Victor Wembanyama vs Hawks, Trae Young vs Spurs: How they’ve performed in past matchups

Victor Wembanyama’s entry point in the game will be extremely crucial for the Spurs in Friday’s showdown in Atlanta. He has played four games against the Hawks and has averaged 28.3 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 3.5 blocks per game in his short NBA career. Wemby has never scored below 20 points against the Hawks in the four games.

Similarly, Trae Young is equally, if not more, important for Atlanta, and his exclusion from the game has piled up the pressure on Jalen Johnson, who is leading the Hawks in Trae’s absence. Trae averages 26.3 points, 10.5 assists, and 33.4 rebounds in 14 games against the Spurs across his NBA career.

San Antonio Spurs vs Atlanta Hawks match preview and what to expect

The San Antonio Spurs have been on an upward curve this season with or without Wembanyama. Even when he was injured, they held themselves together and continued to produce results. Therefore, they reached the NBA Finals and are expected to perform well in the postseason.

Meanwhile, the Hawks have struggled with injuries to some of their star players, making things difficult for them. Still being competitive and reaching the playoffs would be their ultimate goal for this season.

In the last 10 meetings, the Spurs are overwhelming favourites with a 7-3 record. This will be the second meeting between the two teams this season, following their first encounter in November, when the Spurs registered a 135-126 win without Wemby in action.

San Antonio Spurs vs Atlanta Hawks predicted starting lineup

Based on current injury reports, here’s how both teams could start on Friday.

Spurs may start with Wemby on the bench, and Hawks may miss Trae Young completely due to load management, which makes the game even tougher for Atlanta. Who will come out on top? Comment down below.