The San Antonio Spurs will host the Utah Jazz at AT&T Center on Tuesday.
A difficult road test awaits the Jazz (1-2), who are still waiting to get to full strength in the very early portion of the season. The good news for the Jazz is that Derrick Favors is close to getting the minutes restriction removed from head coach Quin Snyder, who limited Favors to 20 minutes off the bench in a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday. Even with a healthy Jazz lineup and rotation, the Spurs (4-0) cause matchup nightmares in both the front and back court sets. The length the Jazz have behind players like Rodney Hood and Rudy Gobert should stabilize an otherwise big advantage for San Antonio. Gobert, who just signed a four year deal worth just over $100 million, is off to a strong start averaging 11.0 points and 12.0 rebounds, and will be matched up against a defensively weak Pau Gasol. The paint is not just patrolled by the veteran Gasol, as LaMarcus Aldridge is able to stretch his matchups inside and outside of the restricted zone, which will pose another challenge for Utah’s game plan.
The Spurs are one of the most complete teams in the NBA, which has become the norm for Gregg Popovich’s squad over the past decade. San Antonio is off to a perfect start to the season and is coming off a 106-99 win against the Miami Heat. Pau Gasol is still struggling on the defensive end of the floor in his veteran years, but managed 20 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and two blocks in the win on Sunday. The Spurs also boast Kawhi Leonard, who got off to rip-roaring start with back-to-back 30-plus point games to open the season against the Warriors and Kings, while 27 points in Sunday’s game as well. Leonard has been a force in transition and on the defensive end of the floor, evidenced by his 3.3 steals per game through those four wins.
