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Spurs' Green out 3 weeks with quad strain

Mark D. Smith / USA TODAY Sports

The San Antonio Spurs will begin the regular season without their starting shooting guard, as Danny Green is expected to miss three weeks with a left quad strain.

Green, one of the league's preeminent 3-and-D specialists, has also been one of the Spurs' most durable players. He sat out just 20 games over the past five seasons, and just four over the past two.

Green was typically excellent at the defensive end last season - the first of a four-year, $40-million deal - but uncharacteristically wayward with his jumper, especially from distance. In 79 games (all starts), he averaged 7.2 points and 3.8 rebounds, while shooting career-worst percentages from the field (37.6) and 3-point range (33.2).

Despite that, the Spurs were still nearly three points per 100 possessions better with Green on the floor, a tribute to his ensconcing on-ball defense and pick-and-roll blitzing.

The Spurs may opt to slide a similarly sized wing like Jonathan Simmons into the starting lineup, or perhaps get creative and start backup point guard Patty Mills alongside Tony Parker. Either way, they'll be hard-pressed to replace Green in the season's opening weeks,

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