A Third Loss, and a Lineup Still Waiting to Show Up

By the Spurs Nightly Desk · Tuesday, October 13

The Spurs lost 109-119 at Utah on October 12, their third preseason defeat, with Ja'Kobi Gillespie and Harrison Barnes doing the scoring from a lineup missing most of its regulars. Six of them — Fox, Wembanyama, Vassell, Harper, Castle and Bryant — are penciled in to return October 14 against Phoenix, the first game this preseason built around the group San Antonio actually plans to start the year with.

Spurs Nightly artwork — Illustration by Hoops Nightly.

What happened against the Jazz?

Utah led wire to wire, building a 26-point cushion before San Antonio cut into it late. Ja'Kobi Gillespie led all scorers with 25 points on 9-of-14 shooting, including four 3-pointers, and finished plus-7 in 25 minutes from the bench. Harrison Barnes added 19 points but was minus-13, and Julian Champagnie's five turnovers went with a minus-17 mark in the 109-119 final.

Who's missing, and when do they come back?

De'Aaron Fox, Victor Wembanyama, Devin Vassell, Dylan Harper, Stephon Castle and Carter Bryant are all questionable, each tagged to return October 14 against Phoenix. Tobias Harris, working through a left calf strain, isn't expected back until the October 20 opener against Oklahoma City. Jayden Quaintance remains out with a right knee issue into December.

Does the Suns rematch answer anything about this roster?

It's the first preseason game where the injury list points toward the regulars being back together, after three games leaned on reserves and rookies. Phoenix already won the first meeting 102-98 on October 10; a healthier San Antonio group is the one new variable this time, whatever the result says about preseason basketball in general.

What's the one number worth watching from the Jazz game?

San Antonio's starters outscored its bench 62-47 even with six regulars unavailable, a sign the fill-in group did more than lean on Gillespie alone. Still, Gillespie's plus-7 was the only positive mark among the seven players who logged the most minutes — Barnes, Champagnie and Luke Kornet all finished in double-digit negatives.

Does the rookie class get a bigger look once the regulars return?

Gillespie has turned a reserve role into real scoring, and R.J. Davis has drawn minutes too, but neither has played against a full-strength opponent yet. Once Fox, Wembanyama and the rest are back, how coach Mitch Johnson balances returning regulars against these early preseason performances is still unsettled.

The verdictThree preseason losses won't be on the record San Antonio carries into October 20, but the team hasn't put its intended roster on the floor yet; the October 14 rematch with Phoenix is where that starts to change.

When do the Spurs play the Suns again?

San Antonio hosts Phoenix on October 14 in a preseason rematch, after losing the first meeting 102-98 on October 10.

Is De'Aaron Fox playing in the next game?

Fox is listed questionable and penciled in to return October 14, the date of the Suns rematch, after sitting out the first three preseason games.