San Antonio plays at Utah on Monday before this one, so the Spurs show up having played a game in between and the Suns don't. That Jazz game also settles the most useful question for Wednesday: whether De'Aaron Fox finally makes his preseason debut. He sat the opener against Atlanta with soreness and was ruled out again Saturday against Phoenix, both times with no injury disclosed. Monday in Salt Lake City is his next chance.
Coach Mitch Johnson has 3 starters locked in: Wembanyama, Fox and Stephon Castle. The other 2 spots are open. Dylan Harper played his way into a bigger role during last season's Finals run, but Johnson hasn't committed to starting 3 guards together. Tobias Harris was the offseason signing who could have taken one of those forward spots from Julian Champagnie, who started 68 of 82 games last season. Harris is out for the preseason with a strained left calf, and the team says it won't rush him. So when Fox is out, the wings come down to Champagnie, Keldon Johnson and whoever else Johnson wants to look at.
Wembanyama is the reason to watch. In the opener against Atlanta he played 17 minutes and scored 9, and the Spurs ran him as the ball handler in pick-and-roll and let him hit a step-back three. That's the part of his game San Antonio wants to grow this fall. Putting him on the perimeter against Maluach again, with Fox possibly back running the offense, is the matchup that could teach either team something.
For Phoenix, the question is how much Booker plays. He sat Saturday for rest, not an injury, so a return Wednesday would be a coaching decision. Bridges' ankle is listed day-to-day. If both come back, this game looks a lot more like what the Suns plan to run in the regular season. If they don't, it's another long look at Kennard, Green and the young center. Tipoff is 7:00 PM CT on Wednesday, October 14.