Western Notes: Poeltl, Sabonis, Booker, Gobert

Spurs center Jakob Poeltl has continued to play limited minutes since returning from a seven-game absence due to a bone bruise in his right knee, Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News notes.

Poeltl hasn’t played more than 24 minutes in five games since suiting up again. He was extremely effective on Monday against Utah, contributing 16 points, nine rebounds, four blocks and two steals during that time frame in the Spurs’ victory.

“It’s just about finding a rhythm again, getting back in shape,” said Poeltl, an unrestricted free agent next summer who could get dealt prior to the trade deadline if the Spurs find the right offer.

We have more Western Conference news:

  • Kings big man Domantas Sabonis isn’t considering surgery for the fracture in his right thumb, James Ham of The Kings Beat tweets. He hopes to return to action soon and will be reassessed regularly, depending on effectiveness and pain levels. De’Aaron Fox said it will difficult to go without Sabonis if he needs to miss a stretch of games, Ham adds in another tweet. “It’s going to take everybody, it’s going to take a village to make up for the production that’s going to be missing from him,” Fox said.
  • Suns star Devin Booker returned to Phoenix after Sunday’s Christmas game for further evaluation after reaggravating a groin injury during the first quarter of Phoenix’s loss at Denver, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic reports. Phoenix is currently on a six-game road trip. Booker had missed three games before his early departure against the Nuggets.
  • Despite the trade for Rudy Gobert, rebounding remains a major issue for the Timberwolves, Chris Hine of the Star Tribune writes. Minnesota began the week 25th in the league in defensive rebounding percentage. Coach Chris Finch has said the problem is mainly due to a lack of effort from their wings and guards, rather than Gobert and the other bigs.
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