For the season’s first road game, head coach Gregg Popovich’s actions will give a clearer indication as to how he’ll manage San Antonio’s current point guard rotation. With Atlanta projected to be a bottom team in the East, this contest will likely allow many of the younger players to play significant minutes.
Atlanta spent the offseason completely restructuring their franchise. After five seasons led by former Spurs assistant Mike Budenholzer, the two parties agreed to part ways ahead of the 2018 offseason. They subsequently began a new rebuild led by general manager Travis Schlenk and head coach Lloyd Pierce, who come from the strong cultures of Golden State and Philadelphia respectively.