The San Antonio Spurs are undefeated through two preseason contests, without any of their primary ball handlers. It’s undetermined whether they’ll get any of those ball handlers back against the Utah Jazz on Friday night. The Jazz will be without a significant portion of their roster, including star forward Lauri Markkanen.
The Spurs will have Victor Wembanyama, who continues to shake off the rust of not playing since February 12th. He and the impressive new addition, Luke Kornet, will face a depleted
Utah front court with both Walker Kessler and Kyle Filipowski missing the contest. There will however be an intriguing matchup on the wing between the Jazz’s top-5 selection, Ace Bailey, who dropped 25 points in his preseason debut, and Spurs rookie Carter Bryant, who has continued to impress off the bench.
San Antonio’s third preseason game should give them another look at the end of their roster, as they nurse injuries back to health, and face a Jazz team that is missing a good chunk of its primary players.
San Antonio Spurs (2-0) vs. Utah Jazz (0-1)
October 10th, 2025 | 7 PM CT
Watch: News 4 SA | Listen: WOAI (1200 AM)
Spurs Injuries: De’Aaron Fox – Out (hamstring), Dylan Harper – Questionable (thumb), Kelly Olynyk – Questionable (heel), Stephon Castle – Questionable (knee), Jeremy Sochan – Questionable (calf), Jordan McLaughlin – Questionable (undisclosed)
Jazz Injuries: Walker Kessler – Out (shoulder), Isaiah Collier – Out (hamstring), Lauri Markkanen – Out (wrist), Kyle Filipowski – Out (back), Cam McGriff – Questionable (non-injury related), Max Abmas – Questionable (undisclosed), Georges Niang – Out (foot)
What to watch for:
Turnovers
Is it too early to identify trends in the preseason? Through two games, the Spurs have struggled mightily with turnovers. It likely has to do with the fact that all four point guards on the roster are on the injury report. San Antonio has turned the ball over 46 times in two games, a lot of which are coming from their star, Wembanyama (11 in 2 games). If Mitch Johnson is going to make Wemby a playmaking hub, he’ll have to trust him to take care of the ball. Look for the big man, and the rest of the squad to clean up these mistakes against the Jazz.
Julian Champagnie’s shooting
Perhaps the most impressive Spur of the preseason has been Champagnie. He’s been red hot from three, knocking down 9 of his 14 deep balls. The wing could be a huge difference maker on a team that lacks knockdown shooters. Riding a hot streak into the regular season would be a major tailwind for Champagnie and could earn him an even bigger role than he was already slated for.
Bryant vs. Bailey
Even in the preseason, these are the types of games you want to see your lottery-selected rookie get up for. Bailey is a pure scorer, and Bryant will likely get a few opportunities to go at him 1-on-1. He can live up to his lockdown defensive reputation with a stifling performance against Bailey. Bryant has also shown more juice off the bounce than he did in the summer league. It’ll be interesting to see that aspect of his game develop throughout the preseason and his rookie year in San Antonio.
