San Antonio Spurs at Utah Jazz

·Mon Oct 12·7:00 PM MT·Salt Lake City, UT

By JR·2 min read

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Monday 10/127:00 PM

TLDR: It's preseason, so nobody's keeping score in April. Still, Spurs at Jazz on Monday, October 12 puts Victor Wembanyama in the same building as a Utah frontcourt that is already down its starting center.

TUE 10/13, TUE OCT 13, 7:00 PM

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Jazz

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A preseason tune-up in Salt Lake City. Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs, coming off a blown 23-point lead against Atlanta and a stop in Phoenix, face a Jazz team that opened with a win over Denver but has lost Jusuf Nurkic for at least 4 weeks. Both injury lists are long and minutes will be managed, so the game is mostly about the Wembanyama-Jaren Jackson Jr. matchup and how Utah's young backcourt develops.

San Antonio Spurs

Wembanyama flashing guard skills, step-back 3 included
Nurkic out leaves Utah thin against size
Blew a 23-point lead in preseason opener
Fox, Harris, Williams, Brown all nicked up
Second leg of a road swing after Phoenix

Utah Jazz

Markkanen scored 17 in 14 minutes vs Denver
Jackson Jr. gives a real answer for Wembanyama
Nurkic out at least 4 weeks, foot
Markkanen, Sensabaugh, Filipowski all banged up

Start with the big man. Wembanyama played 17 minutes in San Antonio's preseason opener against Atlanta and put up 9 points, 6 rebounds, a block and an assist. The number that got people talking was a first-quarter crossover on Onyeka Okongwu that ended in a step-back 3. Wembanyama said he spent the summer working on "seeing more things and slowing the game down," and he showed it right away. The Spurs still lost that game 123-116 after leading by 23. That's the kind of thing coaches mention in film sessions, and nobody else will remember it by November.

San Antonio doesn't come straight to Utah. The Spurs visit Phoenix on October 10 first, and that game decides most of what you'll see in Salt Lake: who plays the second half of a 2-game road swing, how long Wembanyama goes, and whether a short-handed group gets thinner. The list is already long. De'Aaron Fox sat out the Hawks game with soreness, Tobias Harris is dealing with a calf issue that Mitch Johnson says they won't rush, and Malik Williams and Maliq Brown both missed the opener. Jayden Quaintance still hasn't been cleared for basketball activities. There's no board posted for this one yet.

Utah's preseason started well. The Jazz beat Denver 109-97 in Boulder, and Lauri Markkanen scored 17 points in just 14 minutes, going 3-for-7 from deep. The opening-night starting lineup looked like the bones of the actual rotation: Keyonte George, rookie Darryn Peterson, Markkanen, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Jusuf Nurkic. That group won't play together for a while. Nurkic has a partial plantar plate tear in his right foot and is out at least 4 weeks.

Nurkic's injury is the real question for Utah here. Without its starting center, the Jazz have to find a way to handle a 7-footer who is now pulling up from 3 off the dribble. Jackson becomes the obvious matchup. Wembanyama against Jackson is worth tuning in for even in a game that doesn't count, because they're 2 of the best shot-blockers in the league and Monday is a rare chance to watch them guard each other. Utah's depth is thin too: Markkanen (neck), Brice Sensabaugh (hip) and Kyle Filipowski (back) all missed the second Nuggets game.

So expect rotations with a long leash for the young guys and short minutes for anyone whose name shows up on an injury report. For San Antonio, the thing to watch is whether the starters can hold a lead for a full half, which they couldn't do against Atlanta. For Utah, it's how Peterson looks next to George in the backcourt and who plays center now that Nurkic is out. Tip is 7:00 PM MT at the Delta Center.

San Antonio Spurs at Utah Jazz

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