A lot of the good vibes around the San Antonio Spurs’ 5-0 start began to shift after a 116-97 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Sunday. Not only were the Spurs dismantled by a short-handed Suns squad, but they also lost Dylan Harper to a calf strain that should sideline him for a couple of weeks. They’ll have a chance to bounce back and reclaim those good vibes with some reinforcements joining them in Los Angeles against the Lakers.
The Spurs have changed the injury designation of a few key players for the first time this season. Jeremy Sochan, Kelly Olynyk, and Lindy Waters III are all questionable for Wednesday night’s game. De’Aaron Fox and Luke Kornet remain out with the newly injured Harper. San Antonio’s depth is dwindling before its eyes, so any help they can get will be needed, especially against a Lakers team that has won four games in a row.
Los Angeles has done much of their winning while being short-handed. LeBron James has yet to suit up this season. Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves have both missed time. Doncic will play on Wednesday, while Reaves is questionable. Both are having incredible seasons. Doncic is averaging 41.3 points, 11.5 rebounds, and 8.3 assists, while Reaves is putting up 31.3 points and 9.3 assists per game. They’ve driven the Lakers’ offense to a top-10 rating in the NBA.
Sochan’s return couldn’t come at a better time, as the Spurs will need their best defensive effort to slow down the Lakers.
November 5th, 2025 | 9 PM CT
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Spurs Injuries: Dylan Harper – Out (calf), De’Aaron Fox – Out (hamstring), Luke Kornet – Out (ankle), Kelly Olynyk – Questionable (heel), Jeremy Sochan – Questionable (wrist), Lindy Waters III – Questionable (eye), Harrison Ingram – Questionable (G League), Riley Minix – Questionable (G League)
Lakers Injuries: LeBron James – Out (back), Maxi Kleber – Out (abdominal), Adou Thiero – Out (knee), Gabe Vincent – Out (ankle), Jaxson Hayes – Probable (ankle), Austin Reaves – Questionable (groin)
Sochan will be a crucial figure for the team on Wednesday night. He’s historically gotten the Luka assignment and played admirably. There is no such thing as a “Luka-stopper,” but Sochan can put up a pretty good fight with his combination of strength, size, athleticism, and tenacity. It’ll be interesting to see how many minutes he plays, given it is potentially his first game back from injury. On another night, San Antonio might ease him into it, but the Spurs are running out of bodies, and they’ll need him. It’ll also be interesting to see how he fits into the Spurs’ offensive unit. His cutting should be a big weapon for San Antonio if the Lakers send multiple defenders at Victor Wembanyama.
Wednesday may be the first glimpse we get at the newly acquired Olynyk. The veteran center is a big body who can shoot the ball from three. He’s not known for his defense, but he has more size than Bismack Biyombo, who had been manning the backup center position in Olynyk and Kornet’s absence. Olynyk doesn’t quite meet Kornet’s standards as a backup big, but he should give the Spurs another offensive weapon who can space the floor next to Wembanyama, should they want to play two bigs.
Teams have been deploying a similar strategy to stop Wembanyama. Guard him with a smaller wing defender who can get leverage and keep up with him on the perimeter, and send a double team pretty much as soon as he catches the ball. Wembanyama and the Spurs have struggled to adapt to the defensive attention the superstar has gotten. Stephon Castle and Harper have been the only players who have taken advantage of the lanes available to them as teams focus on Wemby. The team around him must take advantage of those opportunities, but it’s the superstar big man who will take San Antonio the furthest. He will have to adjust to more defensive attention and find a way to impact the game on the offensive end.
