Another Spur seemingly bites the dust.
Veteran forward Rudy Gay will miss the San Antonio Spurs' final preseason outing on Friday night against the Orlando Magic due to an inflamed bursa in his heel - an issue which plagued him for the better part of the 2017-18 campaign.
Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich told reporters that he wasn't sure whether he could count on the 32-year-old being available for opening night on Oct. 17 against the Minnesota Timberwolves, according to the San Antonio Express-News' Jeff McDonald.
Gay's injury couldn't come at a worse time for San Antonio, who have seen a number of their key players drop like flies. Dejounte Murray was recently diagnosed with a torn ACL in his right knee, Derrick White will be out for the foreseeable future with a heel injury, and rookie Lonnie Walker IV just underwent surgery to repair a tear in his right medial meniscus.
"I’m just not going to take any chances with those other three guys being out. I just can’t take a chance on getting someone else hurt," said Popovich.
"I don't know. They'll look at it (Gay's heel) when we get back into town."
Gay made 57 appearances last season for the 47-win Spurs, averaging 11.5 points and 5.1 rebounds on 47.1 percent shooting in 21.6 minutes per game. He's expected to slot in as the team's new starting small forward now that Kawhi Leonard is with the Toronto Raptors.
