Zach Collins could make his Spurs debut tonight against the Rockets

If last night’s game against the Miami Heat didn’t shown just how thin the Spurs are on big men once Jakob Poeltl is out (not to mention Jock Landale), at least there is a light at the end of the tunnel. After the game, Gregg Popovich said that there is a “good chance” 6’11” big man Zach Collins will make his Spurs debut tonight against the Houston Rockets.

The Spurs signed Collins to a 3-year, $22 million contract this last offseason, with the second year partially guaranteed and the third non-guaranteed.

Collins last played on August 13, 2020 for the Portland Trail Blazers before undergoing surgery to repair a medial malleolus stress fracture in his right foot. He missed the entire 2020-21 season recovering before re-fracturing his foot in July last season and having surgery again to repair the same injury. Even in the 2019-20 season he only played in 11 games after missing four months due to surgery to repair his left labrum. He’s had a highly unfortunate string of luck the last couple of years, so hopefully this is a fresh new start for him.

We will have more on what his return means for the Spurs later, but it could hardly come at a better time for the shorthanded group as they prepare to head out on the Rodeo Road Trip after tonight. Welcome back, Zach!