San Antonio vs Utah Prediction: the Spurs Leaders are In Bad Form

Four last five meetings between San Antonio and Utah have never reached 220 points. For both teams, these are entirely new times this season. They've both gone into rebuilding, though the visitors remain competitive even after exchanging their stars. Should we expect a surge in scoring in the first faceoff between the Spurs and Jazz this regular season? 

With the Spurs trailing last in the West, it would not be brilliant to expect anything more from them. Devin Vassell and Keldon Johnson are playing somewhere near star level, and they can save the team alone in some games, but over the distance, they are inferior to almost every club in their conference. Gregg Popovich is cherishing the club's leaders: Vassell, Poeltl, and Johnson have missed games this season. The San Antonio sick bay is empty, while rookie Blake Wesley gained form in the G League and is ready to step on the floor.

The Spurs failed 4 of the last five games, and the match against Orlando ended in a 113-13 blowout. Keldon Johnson and Devin Vassell were hitting 40% or less from the field, and that's a tough call to make. Josh Richardson and Doug McDermott missed too many shots, and Tre Jones was the best player on the team with 16 points and eight assists.

The Jazz has slowed down after a good start but wins in their last two games secured them a seventh place in the Western Conference. Washington and Detroit have become just the right opponents, yet both are still going outside the top 10 in the East. In both games, Utah shot over 40% from three-point range, although they had failed to reach 35% twice in a row before and lost.

Against the Pistons, Lauri Markkanen lit it up, scoring 38 points, but in the game against the Wizards, it was a team effort. Four Jazz players scored 18+ points. In addition to Markkanen and Clarkson, bench players Malik Beasley and Collin Sexton did the same. The result was a 120-112 win for Utah.

Kelly Olynyk is still injured and has missed the last three games, which has increased playing time for Jared Vanderbilt and Walker Kessler. Kessler, by the way, moved up to 7th in the NBA in average blocked shots and is 0.3 blocks away from being 8th.

The Spurs rely heavily on Keldon Johnson and Devin Wassell, and both could be in better shape now. The holiday break may have benefited the team, but we wouldn't expect a dramatic transformation. Utah is more stable, their leaders are in good shape, and the Jazz has recently beaten opponents of San Antonio's level without any problems. Last regular season, the Spurs caused a lot of inconveniences to their opponents. This season the Spurs are among the worst in their half of the league, although Utah is not far behind in the NBA defensive rankings. 

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