Preview: San Antonio Spurs at Utah Jazz – Preseason Game #4
Keldon Johnson is ready to make his preseason debut (Photo via Twitter)
The San Antonio Spurs will play their second to last preseason game tonight against the Utah Jazz. Thus far the Spurs are 0-3 in exhibition play. Their latest loss was a 111-97 thrashing at the hands of the New Orleans Pelicans (see the Grades).
The Spurs not winning a preseason game so far isn’t a surprise, as San Antonio is projected to be one of the worst teams in the NBA this season. The Pelicans game, specifically, was guaranteed to be a loss after head coach Gregg Popovich decided to rest Devin Vassell and Jakob Poeltl. Resting those two starters resulted in an underwhelming starting lineup of Keita Bates-Diop, Jeremy Sochan, Zach Collins, Josh Richardson and Tre Jones.
San Antonio Spurs Injury Update
There’s good news and bad news on the injury front for the Spurs. The good news is that Keldon Johnson and Joshua Primo are expected to participate in their first preseason game tonight. Johnson has been out after dislocating his shoulder, while Primo has been out after spraining a ligament in his knee.
The bad news is that two more Spurs will miss tonight’s game due to injury. Zach Collins is out because he’s in concussion protocols and Josh Richardson is sidelined after suffering a knee injury against the Pelicans. Collins and Richardson are expected to be back in the lineup in time for the opening of the regular season on Oct. 19 versus the Charlotte Hornets.
San Antonio Starting Lineup
With Jakob Poeltl, Devin Vassell, Keldon Johnson and Joshua Primo all expected to return, the team’s rotation will be completely different. Which Spurs players will be in the starting lineup? We know that Poeltl, Vassell and Johnson will start. The other two starters aren’t quite as clear.
At point guard, the likely starter is Tre Jones. However, there’s a chance that Primo is the starter at point guard instead. Before the start of training camp, it was expected that Jones and Primo would battle for the starting point guard gig. Now that Primo is ready to play, the coaches may want to see what he looks like playing next to the starters.
The other starter will most likely be Keita Bates-Diop at power forward. It’s also possible that Jeremy Sochan could start at power forward. Another option is Primo starting in a small ball lineup next to Jones.
Jazz Rebuilding Alongside the Spurs
The Spurs aren’t the only rebuilding team in the Western Conference. The Jazz dramatically entered a rebuilding era by trading away Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert. Those two trades ended Utah’s hopes of making the playoffs this season. Instead, they’ll be joining the Spurs in hoping to get lucky with lottery balls this summer.
Spurs vs. Jazz Betting Guide
The Jazz are favored to beat the Spurs by three points tonight. The smart money is on the Jazz to cover. While the Spurs will have most of their starters back in action, it’ll take some time to figure things out. Additionally, both Keldon Johnson and Joshua Primo will likely be on a minutes restriction as they return to action. Add it all up and this should be a fairly easy Jazz victory this evening.