San Antonio Spurs Injury Report (Jan. 4): Latest on Malaki Branham, Zach Collins' status
Malaki Branham could miss the San Antonio Spurs' upcoming game against the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday night. Matthew Tynan has reported that Malaki Branham is listed as "doubtful" for the game that will be nationally televised on TNT due to an ankle sprain.
The Spurs are already missing Zach Collins, who hurt his ankle too. Coach Gregg Popovich, as reported by Jeff Garcia of KENS 5 San Antonio, said that Collins is expected to miss 2-4 weeks of action.
Charles Bassey, one of the Spurs' two-way players, will sit out the rest of the season after he injured his ACL during the Austin Spurs' NBA G-League game on Wednesday night against the Texas Legends, as reported by the San Antonio Express-News' Jeff McDonald.
What happened to Malaki Branham, Zach Collins?
Both Malaki Branham and Zach Collins hurt their ankles in the last game they played.
Zach Collins injured his ankle during the Spurs' game on Dec. 30 against the Portland Trail Blazers, prematurely ending what had been a solid outing for him. Zach Collins sat out the team's next game against the Boston Celtics a night later to end a back-to-back schedule.
Meanwhile, Branham had his stint in the San Antonio Spurs' game against the Memphis Grizzlies short-lived after he sprained his ankle after seven and a half minutes and didn't return.
Malaki Branham's stats vs Memphis Grizzlies
Branham started for the San Antonio Spurs in the point guard position against the Memphis Grizzlies. However, he only had two points, one rebound, and one assist before spraining his ankle.
San Antonio Spurs error-prone vs Memphis Grizzlies
Despite the loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, coach Gregg Popovich praised the San Antonio Spurs for their effort.
“It's all about attitude,” said Popovich.
However, he also took note of the 16 turnovers they had against the Grizzlies:
“We can't have 16 turnovers. You're there. You played a pretty good game. We had a lot of guys who played well, but we have to be sharper.”
The Spurs already had 12 errors at halftime. Although they controlled their turnovers in the second half, the Grizzlies got their offense going and led by as much as 18 points in the third quarter before sealing a 106-98 win.