John Collins Previews Jazz's NBA Cup Matchup vs. Spurs

The Utah Jazz veteran sounded off on some of his expectations for Tuesday night.

Nov 16, 2024; Sacramento, California, USA; Utah Jazz forward John Collins (20) before the game against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images / Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

The Utah Jazz will be facing off against the San Antonio Spurs for the fourth and final time this season on Monday, as the team takes on their third NBA Cup matchup of the season, hoping to secure their first of the tournament and fifth total win of the year.

Heading into the contest, it'll be a familiar sight for the Jazz, as they've seen this team four times in just over one month into the NBA season. So far, Utah's gotten a 1-2 record against San Antonio, and will look to even the score on Tuesday.

Before the matchup, John Collins spoke about what he expects going into his fourth meeting with the Spurs, and how having so much exposure to them and their playstyle affects the flow of the game.

"It's a good and bad thing, right?" Collins said. "In terms of being familiar with them and knowing what their plays are, knowing what they like to get to, and what they're going to run, but the same goes for them in terms of them understanding and game planning for us early."

During their last meeting, the Jazz came up short 118-116 vs. San Antonio, even without Victor Wembanyama being in the lineup. In that one, Collins still managed to get involved on both sides with a strong double-double of 18 points, and 14 rebounds, alongside a steal and a block.

This time around, the Spurs expect to have their French phenom Wembanyama back in the mix but still could be without several key pieces like Jeremy Sochan, Devin Vassell, and Keldon Johnson.

"Definitely going to be a hard-fought game, I'm assuming," Collins continued. "Hopefully, we can make it an easy one. But, expecting it to be a dog fight. They have some smart guys over there, and we're going to have to learn from our film and however many times we've played them this year to attack first. "

The Jazz and Spurs will tip off in the Delta Center at 7 PM MT.

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