SAN ANTONIO — Three thoughts on the Utah Jazz's 123-98 loss to the San Antonio Spurs Wednesday night from KSL.com's Jazz beat writer, Andy Larsen.

1. The Spurs are just so good

This one was going to be essentially impossible for the Jazz to win: the Spurs have yet to lose at home this season (now 21-0), meanwhile, Utah is without four of its six best players.

But even beyond that, the Spurs' hyper-precision with their offense and defense means that they could take advantage of the Jazz's youth and inexperience, especially among the 10 players dressed. No team in the NBA is better equipped to identify small weaknesses that naturally arise against a starting lineup featuring two rookies, a second-year player, a third-year player and a fifth-year player. And then the Spurs, because they're impossibly good, identify those weaknesses and turn them into gashes.

That's how the Spurs took good Jazz effort on the defensive end of the floor and turned it into 123 points and 60 percent shooting. No player scored more than 18 for San Antonio (who themselves were without Tony Parker and LaMarcus Aldridge), but eight separate players scored in double digits. That's Spurs basketball: move the ball, sometimes to the point of amazement, find the open player, and make the open shot. That's it.

Like, look at this play at the end of the half. The Spurs just run simple pick and roll, knowing the Jazz will switch. With Hood on Duncan, the Spurs throw it high to the legendary big man.

Spurs ball movement (that pass by Duncan!) pic.twitter.com/aE2jt6eIRd — Andy Larsen (@andyblarsen) January 7, 2016

Now, most players try to take the ball down and score here, but Duncan kicks a one handed pass to David West, who immediately swings it to McCallum in the corner. McCallum misses the shot, but it's a wide open look from the corner 3, one of the most efficient shots in basketball. And Duncan sets it up for the brand new Spurs man involved.

I know, some of you are rolling your eyes at this column, and the over-the-top love the Spurs are shown for the way they play basketball. But its 100 percent deserved. They're a perfect, beautiful machine.

2. Jazz didn't struggle on offense

Getting 98 points is more than a respectable showing against the Spurs' No. 1 ranked offense, especially with all of the Jazz's injuries inside. Especially impressive was the performance of Trey Burke, who put up 21 points on 17 shots to lead the Jazz in scoring.

Burke has the opportunity to be very valuable against teams like San Antonio, whose defense is predicated around stopping layups at the rim and 3-point shots. Burke's skillset, on the other hand, is taking and making midrange jumpers and floaters.

Burke's taken big steps in this area this season. He's shooting 41.7 percent on all shots between 10 and 15 feet away from the hoop, and is making over 50 percent of shots between 16 feet away and the three point line! In other words, so far this season, he's been one of the most efficient mid-range scorers in the league.

He's still below-average for his position on layups and three-point shots, often struggling with the defensive pressure there. He also often takes too many shots against teams that do try to contest his looks. But against tonight's San Antonio defense, Burke's shots were open, and he made them.

3. Elijah Millsap out, Chris Johnson and Joe Ingles step in

Elijah Millsap was waived by the Utah Jazz on Tuesday, just ahead of the date on which his contract would be guaranteed. That means the roster stands at 14 players, with room for one more to add. I suspect the player the Jazz add will fit into their franchise philosophy of long, defensively-oriented players who are willing to work and be coachable: in other words, not Jimmer Fredette.

But in the mean time, the Jazz only dressed 10 players, including just four wings. With the blowout, Chris Johnson and Joe Ingles got a lot of playing time (25 and 22 minutes respectively).

Chris Johnson has impressed me recently with his play, and obviously that's true of the Jazz's coaching staff too. He picked up 3 steals and 2 blocks tonight, and really does do gambling help-defense well to get turnovers. He also looks to have a better shot than Millsap, although it's clearly still not an absolute strength. He told me that the 3-point shot is his major focus in practice and individual workouts with Jazz coaches.

Joe Ingles, on the other hand, has shown he's a capable offensive player, but is a little bit lacking on the defensive end. Clearly, he's an excellent catch-and-shoot man, and when the Jazz's offense is whirring, sometimes that's exactly what they need. When opponents get too far out on him, he's also capable of driving all the way to the rim to finish with a layup on either side.

He does, though, turn over the ball too much, something that Quin Snyder gets on him about regularly. And his defense is fairly suspect, and teams have been looking to isolate Jingles in one-on-one situations this season, taking advantage of his slow foot speed. He's usually a tough defender, but his athleticism hurts him on that end.

Regardless, those two guys are going to get much more playing time now with Alec Burks out for the next two months or so. Now is the time for either to show that they deserve to stay in a healthy NBA rotation — whether it be for the Jazz, or some other team if they're used as intriguing trade filler before the deadline.

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