The San Antonio Spurs made a roster move this afternoon ahead of their home clash against the Dallas Mavericks at 8 p.m. (ET).
San Antonio Spurs and Miami Heat Make Roster Moves As They Prepare For Their Upcoming Games
The Spurs called up forward Dominick Barlow from their G-League squad, Austin Spurs, to replace Zach Collins on the active roster. According to Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News, Collins has been placed in the NBA’s concussion protocol.
It's actually concussion protocol for Collins, who took a spill in the last game in Austin https://t.co/fiD5yfDRzs
— Jeff McDonald (@JMcDonald_SAEN) March 19, 2024
Collins hit his head on the court during Sunday’s game against the Brooklyn Nets in Austin and seemed fine, according to Marilyn Dubinski of SBNation. But he woke up not feeling well this morning.
This is just another setback for Collins, who signed a contract extension in October following a career year in 2022-23. While Collins is having a solid season, he is not shooting or rebounding the ball as he did a season ago. However, tonight’s game will be the 13th game the 26-year-old center will miss since January 1.
It is unknown if this is a one-game absence, but Collins must complete steps before being cleared. With Sidy Cissoko on a G-League assignment and Charles Bassey recovering from ACL surgery, the Spurs would have been down to 11 players before they recalled Barlow.
Who Takes Over Backup Center For Spurs?
Sandro Mamukelashvelli or Barlow will likely serve as Victor Wembanyama‘s backup until Collins returns.
Barlow, whose two-way contract converted to a standard deal at the beginning of the month, has played well for the Spurs this season in limited minutes. The 20-year-old has scored in double-figures in three of his 29 appearances. Overall, he produces 4.7 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.1 assists a game while shooting 51% from the field, including 33.3% from the 3-point line.
San Antonio (15-53) snapped a three-game losing streak with its 122-115 overtime victory on Sunday over Brooklyn. The Spurs are 4-9 in its last 13 games.
Dallas (39-29) has won all three meetings against San Antonio this year and 15 of their last 18 regular season meetings. Luka Doncic (sore left hamstring) is expected to play after being upgraded from questionable for the Mavs.
Duncan Robinson Returns to Miami to See Back Specialist
Duncan Robinson has joined the Miami laundry list of walking wounded, according to Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
Winderman said Robinson, who returned to Miami this morning to see a back specialist, has been ruled out for the conclusion of the Heat’s four-game road trip in Cleveland tomorrow tonight.
“You absolutely love Duncan,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “He couldn’t move coming into the game — just the workload, everything (Sunday), the flight, or whatever — he just couldn’t move. But he’s a competitor, and he’s like, ‘Whatever we need, I’ll be out there.’ And it was tough.”
Robinson was forced to leave Monday’s 97-91 loss to Philadelphia after 24 minutes of action. He finished with three points on one-of-five shooting and four rebounds.
“It’s something I’ve been kind of dealing with over this last stretch,” Robinson said. “And I really kind of felt it second half of (Sunday’s) game, and I just wanted to try to give it a chance. Unfortunately, it’s probably more of a detriment out there than anything, which is disappointing. But at a certain point make a judgment call on it, I’m probably not going to help.”
“Just being able to move is a big asset for me offensively, and fly around and play with pace. So it’s discouraging.”
Miami is eighth in the Eastern Conference with a 37-31 record. The Heat, who have lost five of their last seven, are one game out of sixth place and three-and-one-half games clear of ninth place Chicago.
Heat Makes Roster Moves
Robinson becomes the sixth player with an injury destination heading into Wednesday’s clash in Cleveland. As a result, Cole Swider was summoned from Sioux Falls of the G-League. Orlando Robinson and Alondes Williams are expected to rejoin the Heat in Cleveland after their stint with the SkyForce.
Robinson joins Tyler Herro, Kevin Love, and Josh Richardson on the sidelines. Meanwhile, Jimmy Butler and Nikola Jovic are questionable. Butler has missed the past two games with a bruised right foot, while Jovic has missed the past two games with a strained right hamstring.
