Five Questions Before the Spurs Face the Suns

By the Spurs Nightly Desk · Saturday, October 10

The Spurs play in Phoenix tonight, still searching for answers after blowing a 23-point lead in a preseason-opening loss to Atlanta. Dylan Harper's promotion to the starting lineup and De'Aaron Fox's unclear status headline what still needs sorting out on this trip.

Spurs Nightly artwork — Illustration by Hoops Nightly.

Is Fox playing tonight?

Fox is listed without a firm return timeline, grouped with Malik Williams and Maliq Brown among players not yet cleared. He missed the loss to Atlanta, and that absence is what pushed Harper into the starting five. Until San Antonio says otherwise, plan on seeing the same lineup tonight.

What did Harper's start show?

Harper scored 16 points on 5-of-7 shooting, including 3-of-5 from deep, in 19 minutes filling in for Fox. He finished plus-6, second-best on the roster. One preseason game is a small sample, but it is the clearest evidence yet that his role is expanding.

How did a 23-point lead turn into a loss?

San Antonio opened with a 14-0 run to build that cushion, then watched Atlanta answer with two separate scoring bursts in the second quarter and close with a 13-0 run over the final four minutes, erasing a 108-109 deficit and finishing the game 123-116.

What does Phoenix look like without Williams and Bridges?

The Suns are already down Mark Williams, out with a shoulder issue, and Miles Bridges, banged up with an ankle injury and uncertain to play. Devin Booker remains the headline name after averaging 26.1 points last season, and he figures to carry a heavy minutes load tonight for coach Jordan Ott.

What's next after Phoenix?

San Antonio turns around for Utah on October 12, hosts Phoenix again on October 14, and closes the preseason slate against Sacramento on October 16, before the regular-season opener October 20 at home versus Oklahoma City. Four tests in ten days, none of them counting yet.

The verdictThe record is still 0-0 and everything here is preseason, but the pecking order behind Fox and Wembanyama is already shifting, and how San Antonio closes tonight in Phoenix will say more about discipline than the result itself.

Is De'Aaron Fox playing against the Suns?

He has not been cleared and carries no firm return date, after missing the loss to Atlanta under the same designation.

What was the final score of the Spurs' preseason opener?

San Antonio lost 123-116 to Atlanta on October 8 after leading by 23 points in the first half.