2/3 Utah at San Antonio
7:00 pm MT – AT&T SportsNet/League Pass
Opponent record: 32-19
Season series: Jazz lead 1-0
As I mentioned previously, it’s been an odd season for the San Antonio Spurs. They’re just 5-5 in their last ten games and now hold just a half-game lead over the Minnesota Timberwolves for third place in the West. During their recent 10-game stretch, they’ve beat the likes of the Denver Nuggets and Cleveland Cavaliers, but have also fallen to the Atlanta Hawks and Los Angeles Lakers.
I guess when considering how much Cleveland and Denver have struggled of late as well, though, you could certainly make the argument that none of the Spurs’ recent wins have been all that impressive and that they are in a bit of a funk. Hopefully that will hold true and the Jazz will be able to take advantage of a team that very well could be reeling.
But the fact of the matter is that you can never count out San Antonio. No matter how much they may be struggling or what issues they might be facing, they are always a tough out, especially on their home court. With Kawhi Leonard out of commission, they’ve been paced by recently named All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge who is putting up 22.4 points per contest on nearly 50 percent shooting from the field while grabbing 8.6 boards per game.
It will be critical that the Jazz stop him as well as the rest of San Antonio’s well-balanced attack throughout both their first and second units if they are to come away with a win. Utah was able to do just that about a month ago on their home court, but I have a feeling the Jazz may struggle away from home on this one. I could definitely see this game going either way considering how up-and-down the Spurs have been, but I’m instead going to play it safe and pin the Spurs as winners in this one by a narrow margin.
My Prediction: Spurs Win
Final Score: San Antonio 104, Utah 100
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Utah’s last two victories were a nice step in the right direction as they look to repair their ever-shrinking playoff hopes. However, if they are to truly advance in that aspect, they’ll need to somehow put together a thrilling Week 16 as well. Although I picked them to go just 1-2, to keep their momentum from Week 15 rolling, it’s likely imperative that they pull off the upset over Golden State or San Antonio to instead go 2-1.
That will be far from an easy task, but considering the hole that the Jazz have dug themselves into early, no one said getting back into the mix would be easy. Regardless of how the final record pans out this week, the thing I’m most anxious to see is whether or not the Jazz can maintain their high level of play from last week and take it with them moving forward. Even if they lose to both Golden State and San Antonio, there will be a big difference between competing and getting their clocks cleaned.
If Utah comes out 1-2 as I’ve predicted, but hangs tough with both of those teams, it will likely be a good sign that they can still turn things around before the conclusion of the season.