The Utah Jazz will seek their first victory of the young NBA season when they host the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday night in Salt Lake City.
The Jazz (0-4) will face a one-win Spurs team that arrived in Utah late after playing in Oklahoma City on Wednesday night in the first game of a back-to-back road swing.
The Jazz are the only winless team in the league after Detroit won for the first time, at Philadelphia on Wednesday.
San Antonio, meanwhile, struggled in a 105-93 setback at Oklahoma City on Wednesday, shooting just 41.2 percent from the field during its lowest-scoring game of the season. The Spurs scored only 44 points in the first half against the undefeated Thunder.
San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama, the 2024 Rookie of the Year, had a career-low six points on 1-of-5 shooting from the field, with four turnovers.
“They’re a better team than we are, but that’s also beside the point. We’re trying to get to their level. It’s basketball. It’s the same things that get everybody to the next level and the next level and the next level,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.
“The first thing for us is to realize it’s a 48-minute game. The second half we played them even. And the second thing is to take care of the ball. We gave up 27 points off of turnovers. … That’s not good.”
The Jazz’s early-season woes have coincided with a tough shooting start for second-year guard Keyonte George. He has shot 26.2 percent from the field, including 22.6 percent from beyond the arc, in Utah’s four losses.
George had 11 assists in Utah’s 113-96 loss to the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday, so he’s trying to do other things when his shots aren’t falling. Jazz coach Will Hardy advised him to not let his shooting slump weigh him down. He wants George to treat himself like he would somebody else who was struggling.
“After that, I kind of stopped being as hard on myself,” George said, according to KSL.com. “Obviously, you continue to want to get better, but now I’m out there playing free. Turnovers don’t really mess with me. Missed shots don’t really mess with me as much. It’s human nature you’re gonna be mad you miss, but after that conversation, I think each game is gonna get better and better.”
Injuries have plagued the Jazz already this season. On Monday, the team lost promising second-year player Taylor Hendricks to a devastating, season-ending leg injury. Then, on Tuesday, Utah’s best player, Lauri Markkanen, left the game against Sacramento early due to lower back spasms.
The 7-foot sharpshooter is listed as day-to-day.
Injuries are giving rookies Cody Williams and Kyle Filipowski extra minutes at the beginning of their careers. Williams hit three 3-pointers for nine points against Sacramento on Tuesday, while Filipowski added 12 points and eight rebounds.
“It’s really sad what’s happened, of course,” Filipowski said. “I don’t think anyone really wants to get more minutes that way, but what I’m just trying to do is just stay ready, just keep working hard in the practices every day, staying ready mentally.”
