Next night (4:30 a.m.), the San Antonio Spurs meet the Los Angeles Clippers on their new home turf at the Intuit Dome for their seventh regular-season game. A meeting that Victor Wembanyama and his teammates will be playing without their head coach, Gregg Popovich, who will be away from the game “for an indefinite period“after”a health problem“reports this Monday ESPN.

“Gregg Popovich will not travel with the team to Los Angeles and Houston”.later informed the Spurs in a press release.

Already absent from the bench for Saturday’s win over the Timberwolves in Rudy Gobert (113-103), the Spurs’ historic coach (75), in post since 1996 and five-time NBA champion (1999, 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2014), will be replaced by his first assistant Mitch Johnson (37). The latter, who joined the Spurs staff in 2019, has already made up for Popovich’s withdrawal in March 2023.

Expected in Los Angeles, the San Antonio Spurs have a balanced record so far (3 wins, 3 losses) before beginning, from Friday following a trip to Houston on Wednesday, a series of five home games between now and November 16 (against Portland, Sacramento, Utah, Washington and the Los Angeles Lakers).