Portland Trail Blazers vs San Antonio Spurs: Injury Report, Predicted Lineups and Starting 5s - April 16th, 2021 | NBA Season 2020-21

The Portland Trail Blazers take on the San Antonio Spurs at the AT&T Center on Friday.

The Portland Trail Blazers have lost five of their last seven games and are slipping down the Western Conference standings. They have the fourth-toughest schedule in the league for the remainder of the season. So Damian Lillard and co. will need to pull up their socks to reach the postseason without going through the play-in tournament.

The San Antonio Spurs, meanwhile, have the second-toughest schedule of all teams and are tenth in their conference. Considering their challenging schedule, it looks unlikely they would make the play-in tournament.

Portland Trail Blazers vs San Antonio Spurs: Injury Report

Portland Trail Blazers

Portland Trail Blazers vs Denver Nuggets

The Portland Trail Blazers have a largely healthy lineup for the game against the San Antonio Spurs.

The only player on their injury report is Zach Collins, is who continuing his rehabilitation after surgery on his ankle to repair a stress fracture.

Collins hasn't played for the Portland Trail Blazers this season. According to NBC Sports Northwest, if everything goes according to plan, Collins could return in time for the playoffs.

The Trail Blazers are favored by 1.5 tonight vs the Spurs.Zach Collins (ankle) is the only player out for Portland.

— Paul Garcia (@PaulGarciaNBA) April 16, 2021

San Antonio Spurs

San Antonio Spurs

The San Antonio Spurs also have a largely healthy lineup. The only two players who are either listed out or questionable are Gorgui Dieng and Trey Lyles.

Dieng is questionable for this game due to a shoulder sprain, while Lyles is ruled out due to an ankle injury.

Spurs Injury Report:Gorgui Dieng (right shoulder; sprain) is questionable; Trey Lyes (right ankle; sprain) is out vs. Blazers Friday.

— Jamie Hudson (@JamieHudsonNBCS) April 15, 2021

Portland Trail Blazers vs San Antonio Spurs: Predicted Lineups

Portland Trail Blazers

The Portland Trail Blazers will likely use their same lineup that was deployed in their last outing, as they have no new names in their injury report.

Star guard Damian Lillard should start as the point guard. Lillard is having one of the best seasons of his career and is arguably in MVP reckoning. Joining him in the backcourt could be his longtime scoring partner, CJ McCollum, who should start as the two-guard.

The latest addition to their lineup, Norman Powell, is expected to be their starting small forward. Robert Covington will likely be the power forward, with Jusuf Nurkic returning as the center.

San Antonio Spurs

The San Antonio Spurs are also likely to field their usual lineup in this game.

Four-time All-Star DeMar DeRozan should start as the small forward, as he has been putting up stellar numbers this season. Keldon Johnson will likely be the power forward joining DeRozan in the frontcourt.

Jakob Poeltl has done an amazing job, replacing LaMarcus Aldridge in the San Antonio Spurs' lineup as the starting center. Head coach Gregg Popovich has done a good job developing the young talent.

Meanwhile, Dejounte Murray and Derrick White, who are averaging career-high numbers, will likely be the team's backcourt, with Dejounte Murray running point.

Portland Trail Blazers vs San Antonio Spurs: Predicted Starting 5s

Portland Trail Blazers

Point Guard - Damian Lillard | Shooting Guard - CJ McCollum | Small Forward - Norman Powell | Power Forward - Robert Convington | Center - Jusuf Nurkic.

San Antonio Spurs

Point Guard - Dejounte Murray | Shooting Guard - Derrick White | Small Forward - DeMar DeRozan | Power Forward - Keldon Johnson | Center - Jakob Poeltl.