SAN ANTONIO — According to a release from the San Antonio Spurs, center Jakob Poeltl suffered a right MCL sprain in Saturday's 114-113 win over Orlando.
An MRI Sunday morning revealed the sprain, which could not have come at a worse time for San Antonio. The team did not provide a timetable for the 24-year-old big man, who got hurt less than five minutes into his tenth start of the year.
Poeltl had been playing less than 15 minute per game recently with LaMarcus Aldridge starting at the five, but Aldridge has missed the past two games with a shoulder strain.
After a relatively healthy first half of the season, the Spurs will need to figure out how to survive without their two best big men as they sit just three games out of the last playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Trey Lyles figures to be a big part of that plan. The first-year Spur started the season off slowly, but looks increasingly comfortable and useful as a stretch big. He averaged 10 points per game in February, shooting 56% from the floor and 50% from deep. He capped off the best month of his career with 20 points, 9 rebounds and 4 steals in the win over Orlando, playing 40 minutes.
Rudy Gay stepped up in that game as well, playing as a small-ball five for stretches and adding 19 points in one of his better performances in a disappointing year.
Two-way center Drew Eubanks played 16 minutes, shooting 4-4 from the field and even hitting a rare triple, which sent the San Antonio bench into a gleeful frenzy that almost earned a delay of game penalty.
Chimezie Metu is another logical option to add front-court depth for the Spurs, but as of now he remains on assignment with Austin. He's averaging 17 points and 9 rebounds in the G League this year, shooting 37% from deep and showing off an increasingly complete offensive skill set.
Then there are the rookies. Keldon Johnson plays bigger than his listed height of 6'6", and he's crammed a season's worth of intensity into the 25 minutes he's played for San Antonio. 6'11" Luka Šamanić is still regarded as a raw prospect, and he has yet to make his NBA debut.
Only time will tell how long Poeltl and Aldridge will be out of commission, and the Spurs don't have much time to figure out a workable backup plan. They're three games behind eighth-seeded Memphis with just 24 games remaining, and their quest to extend the franchise playoff streak to a record 22 years just got that much harder.
