Danny Green out 3 weeks with a quad strain

Danny Green will be out three weeks with a left quad strain, the Spurs announced. He suffered an injury in that area early in preseason and aggravated it during Tuesday's scrimmage.

Kyle Anderson will start in Green's place on Friday for the last preseason game against the Rockets, with Kawhi Leonard moving down to shooting guard. Whether Anderson will continue to fill in for Green when Jonathon Simmons, out with a calf contusion, becomes available remains to be seen.

The Spurs will definitely miss Green's marksmanship. Neither Anderson nor Simmons excel as shooters and Gregg Popovich might be hesitant to start Manu Ginobili. Yet it's on defense where Green's absence might be felt the most. His ability to guard the three perimeter positions gave the Spurs a lot of flexibility on that end.

Green appeared on four preseason games and averaged 3.5 points and 2.8 rebounds on 16.9 minutes a game.

The Spurs will make their season debut on Tuesday, Oct. 25 against the Warriors in Oakland.