The Spurs more or less thrashed the Jazz just before going the distance with the Rockets, and now they have the still-banged-up Utah team in their crosshairs after a quiet but public challenge to …
If there’s one thing that’s sure to help a team coming off a loss (and in the midst of dealing with an overly condensed schedule), it’s a double helping of patsy, sandwiched around the week’s biggest challenge.
The Spurs more or less thrashed the Jazz just before going the distance with the Rockets, and now they have the still-banged-up Utah team in their crosshairs after a quiet but public challenge to their mental and physical toughness from their coach, Mitch Johnson.
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How a team responds to that kind of critique is always worth watching, but you have to feel a little bit bad for the Jazz if the Spurs come out with a chip on their shoulders.
The Spurs were lights out against the Jazz on Monday, shooting just shy of 56% from the field and 42% from three, in a game where the final score fell short of expressing how over-matched the Jazz were.
The Jazz will still be without their leading scorer in Markkanen, and their best post defender in Walker Kessler, so San Antonio should be able to more or less arrange a layup line in this contest, even if their streaky outside shooting fails them.
The Spurs have been on a relative heater, though, ranking 7th in Effective Field Goal Percentage, 9th in True Shooting Percentage, 10th in Field Goal Percentage, 12th in Three-Point Percentage, and 7th in Offensive Rating, all of which are improvements over their extended post-Christmas slump.
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They’ve also avoided giving the ball away, ranking 8th in limiting turnovers and 6th in assist-to-turnover ratio, offering no help to a Jazz defense that’s been one place shy of dead last (29th in defensive rating) during that same stretch.
The only area in which the Jazz have outperformed the Spurs is in 2nd chance scoring, something the Spurs have struggled with both producing and preventing for most of the season.
So, if the Spurs go cold again, the Jazz are likely to be able to prevent them from taking another shot and to corral their own misses, which feels like their most realistic chance at victory.
If, however, the Spurs take Mitch Johnson’s post-game comments to heart, I wish the Jazz the best of luck because I would personally not want to be on the other side of an angry Spurs team that ranks in (or near) the top 10 in most offensive categories this season.
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January 22nd, 2026 | 8:00 PM CT
Watch: FanDuel Southwest| Listen: WOAI (1200 AM)
Spurs Injuries: Devin Vassell – Out (Groin), Luke Kornet – Questionable (Groin), Jeremy Sochan – Day-to-Day (Illness)
Jazz Injuries: Walker Kessler – Out (Shoulder), Georges Niang – Out (Foot), Keyonte George – Questionable (Forearm), Lauri Markkanen – Out (Conditioning), Brice Sensabaugh – Questionable (Illness)
Source: Utah News