For the second time this season, the San Antonio Spurs will take on the Utah Jazz. In the first game, the Spurs came out of the gate slow, clearly fatigued from a win the night before. Still, they were able to rally, beating Utah 117-111 in overtime.
San Antonio is hoping they won’t have to add an extra five minutes to tonight’s game, but they are fully aware that the Jazz are better than their 1-5 record. Keyonte George is sneakily one of the better guards in the NBA, and he posted 31 points against the Spurs. Second-overall pick Darryn Peterson scored a career-high 18 points against San Antonio, and followed it up with 16 points in the following game. He’s starting to find his NBA footing.
Utah remains injured, with Jusuf Nurkic, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Trey Alexander all out, although Lauri Markkanen will suit up. He missed the first game against the Spurs before returning on Halloween, posting an inefficient 13 points on Portland. He’s been off to a cold start to the season, although as he finds his footing, he’s expected to light it up.
The Spurs know that the addition of Markkanen throws another challenge their way. However, much like Peterson and George, the Spurs have found their own footing this season and are clearly the better team.
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Spurs Highlight Game Plan to Beat Utah Jazz
Even though Markkanen isn’t exactly off to the best start of his career, he’s still one of the most dangerous offensive players in the NBA. He’s averaging 15.4 points on 35.5 percent shooting from the field, but in theory, he can get hot at any time.
He’s one of only a few players who are both big and crafty enough to give Victor Wembanyama some trouble, and he has the ability to step back and shoot from deep if the Spurs pack the paint.
“I think it’ll change what they’re doing offensively and who they’re running their plays towards,” predicted Julian Champagnie of Markkanen returning. “Obviously, he’s a good player…All-Star, so that speaks for itself.”
Historically, the Spurs haven’t had much like stopping Markkanen, at least since his All-Star appearance in 2023.
| Span | PPG | RPG | APG | FG% | 3PT% |
| 2022-2026 | 23.5 | 7.5 | 1.9 | 47.2% | 37.4% |
| vs. Spurs | 25.9 | 7.4 | 2.1 | 50.0% | 43.6% |
Despite Markkanen’s strengths, he’s far from the best seven-footer in this matchup. Everything The Finnisher can do, Wemby can do better, and he’s made attacking the paint a point of emphasis in recent games.
“I think that we’re doing a better job running the floor, spacing the floor,” Champagnie added. “And I also think (Wembanyama is) just doing a better job of asserting himself in the right positions. I think the intent behind how he’s playing is a little different. He’s going to dunk the ball a lot more. The more and more he does that, the more and more he does his thing, and we add space, it kind of just opens up.”
Over the last three games, Wembanyama has averaged 36 points, most of them coming directly at the rim. As a bonus, the Spurs are shooting 38.2 percent from 3-point range in the same span. That would have been good for third in the entire league last season.
In short, when Wemby attacks the rim, everyone else’s job is easier. Even with the added difficulty of Markkanen in the lineup, the Spurs expect Monday’s game to be much easier than their overtime win was.
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