The Utah Jazz and San Antonio Spurs were not the games to watch last night. The Jazz mostly controlled the contest after the first quarter and didn't let up, controlling the pace and the action as the night went on. Lauri Markkanen was the top guy for the Jazz, shooting 70% on the night and scoring 31 points, while bringing down 12 rebounds.
Jordan Clarkson had another 24 on a far less efficient night coming off the bench again, and Keyonte George returned as well, joining Clarkson off the bench. He had 10 points on poor shooting, making the decision to move him to the bench the right call at this point in his career. Yet, the one subplot that did deserve attention was the one of Walker Kessler and Victor Wembanyama going at it for the first time in their careers.
The two men didn't share the court a lot together, but they did get a chance to mix it up with one another, with both young bigs getting their fair share of looks. And while it's hard to say who "won" their individual matchup, it is fair to say that Kessler looked every bit as good as Wembanyama for at least one game.
Wembanyama shot 40% on the night, across his 24 minutes of action. He scored 15 points, had seven rebounds, four assists, five blocks and a steal. He was coming off of a minor injury that held him out for a few games prior to the Jazz arriving.
Kessler played 18 minutes, shot 50%, and scored 11 points, seven rebounds, four blocks an assist, and a steal. So while Wembanyama had a more fuller stat-line, Kessler's impact was just as important. Both bigs made a nice dent on the opposing team in the limited minutes they were given.
The hope is that these two young bigs get better and in a year or three, are having iconic matchups with one another, bringing the NBA back to the age of the center.