The San Antonio Spurs are starting to exercise some of the demons that haunted them during their post-Christmas hangover. They have won two straight games at home, and despite nearly collapsing late against the Minnesota Timberwolves, have shown real signs of improvement. How fitting that they’ll have a chance to end the home stand that got them back on track against the team that started to take San Antonio off the rails.
The Spurs will host the injury-riddled Utah Jazz on Monday. San Antonio was
outplayed by Utah on December 27th, losing 127-114. The Jazz got great performances from Keyontae George and Lauri Markkanen, who both scored over 28 points. Utah will be without Markkenen on Monday due to illness. The Jazz’s superstar poses real matchup issues for the Spurs, so the game should play out much differently without him in the lineup.
San Antonio will still have to compete with George and the Jazz’s young core. If they can play close to the way they did against the Wolves and Milwaukee Bucks, they should be able to end their three-game homestand undefeated.
San Antonio Spurs (29-13) vs. Utah Jazz (14-28)
January 19, 2025 | 4 PM CT
Watch: Fan Duel | Listen: WOAI (1200 AM)
Spurs Injuries: Harrison Ingram – Out (G League), Stanley Umude – Out (G League), David Jones-Garcia – Out (G League), Devin Vassell – Out (adductor)
Jazz Injuries: Isaiah Collier – Questionable (quad), Elijah Harkless – Out (G League), Walker Kessler – Out (shoulder), Lauri Markkanen – Out (illness), Georges Niang – Out (foot), John Tonje – Out (G League), Oscar Tshiebwe – Out (G League)
What to watch for:
Dylan Harper vs. Ace Bailey
The Rutgers rookie duo of Harper and Bailey will get to matchup for the first time in the NBA. Bailey sat out their first matchup with an injury. Neither player is the primary offensive focus, but they are important role players for their respective teams. Bailey has been in and out of the starting lineup, with his inefficient scoring, but is a good athlete who can get hot on the wing. Harper has been putting together some solid performances in the last three games. It’ll be fun to see these college teammates duel on Monday.
Wembanyama’s dominance
The biggest difference between the Spurs’ recent success and their past struggles has been the performance of their superstar. Wembanyama has been dominant, scoring 39 and 22 points in the last two games. His impact on the game has gone far beyond the box score. He’s made it hard for teams to score inside and has buried them with hot shooting stretches. Without Walker Kessler or Markkanen, the Jazz are thin on the interior. The circumstances are there for Wembanyama to continue his MVP-level play.
Locking down the Jazz
Utah can’t defend. They are last in defensive rating and points allowed per game. They win games by outscoring opponents. The Jazz play fast (3rd in pace), move the ball around (30.1 assists per game), and score a lot (6th in the NBA in points per game). Not having Markkanen will hurt them, but the Jazz have plenty of ball-handlers and shooters that make them a hard team to guard. Utah’s head coach, Will Hardy, has a great offensive system. The Spurs have been great defensively this season, with or without Wembanyama. They are 3rd in defensive rating. Monday’s game will be a good test to see if a good defense can slow down a good offense.
