Western Conference squads meet on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, as the San Antonio Spurs host the Utah Jazz at Frost Bank Center.
The Jazz (14–28, 13th West) have lost nine of their last 11 games since manifesting a double-digit upset in San Antonio on Dec. 27, and they’ll now head into the rematch without leading scorer Lauri Markkanen. Meanwhile, the Spurs (29–13, 2nd West) have won four of their last six, including back-to-back wins against the Bucks and Timberwolves.
The teams will meet for the third and final time of the regular season on Thursday.
Here’s a look at the Injury Report:
Utah Jazz
- Out: Lauri Markkanen (Illness), Walker Kessler (Shoulder), Georges Niang (Foot)
- Questionable: Isaiah Collier (Quadriceps), Brice Sensabaugh (Illness)
San Antonio Spurs
- Out: Devin Vassell (Adductor)
Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. ET. San Antonio enters as a 16.5-point home favorite on DraftKings Sportsbook, while Utah sits as a +675 underdog. The game’s total is set at 240.5 points.
Jazz vs. Spurs Preview
Utah Jazz Preview
The Jazz pulled off a post-Christmas miracle by beating the Pistons and Spurs — both top five teams — on back-to-back nights, the latter of which came by 13 points in San Antonio. However, it seems the holiday magic has worn off, as they’ve reverted to their woefully inadequate brand of basketball.
Utah has lost nine of 11 games since beating the Spurs, ranking dead last in net rating with an NBA-worst defense during that span. The Jazz will now trudge back into San Antonio without former Most Improved Player Lauri Markkanen, whose 27.9 points per game rank inside the league’s top ten.
While they can lean on fellow All-Star hopeful Keyonte George, the Jazz have gone 0–9 without Markkanen this season — including their last three games — with an average point differential of negative 18 points.
San Antonio Spurs Preview
The Spurs have been treading water since getting blown out at home by the lowly Jazz on Dec. 27.
They’ve gone just 6–6 since Christmas Day, and their offense has completely stalled. San Antonio owns a dreadful 27th-ranked offensive rating, while producing the seventh-fewest points per game on league-worst efficiency during that span.
Still, the Spurs’ top-tier defense has held firm, and so has superstar big man Victor Wembanyama. The French phenom is fresh off piling up 39 points and nine rebounds in Saturday’s win against the Timberwolves — a worrying sign for the understaffed Jazz.
Jazz vs. Spurs Pick, Best Bet
Monday night presents the Spurs with a chance to find their offensive rhythm against a league-worst defense, down its star player.
Expect Wembanyama, along with the slashing backcourt tandem of De’Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle, as well as the sharpshooting forward duo of Julian Champagnie and Keldon Johnson, to carve up the Markkanen-less Jazz and roll to a spread-covering victory in San Antonio.
