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Utah Jazz Seeking First Win Against The Philadelphia 76ers

By Blake Draper

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Two nights after falling to the Detroit Pistons, the Utah Jazz continue their season-opening road trip tonight in Philadelphia to take on the perpetually-rebuilding 76ers. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:00 PM MDT. Like the Jazz, the 76ers lost their season opener, leaving both teams seeking their first win of the season.

The Jazz

Expectations are high for the Jazz this season, and they’ll look to bounce back from Wednesday’s loss. Trevor Booker will make his season debut after missing Wednesday’s game due to a league suspension for smacking the Los Angeles Lakers big man Roy Hibbert during the preseason. Hopefully Booker can bring a dose of energy to the Jazz bench.

In other (good) news for the Jazz, point guard Raul Neto is expected to play after suffering a left knee contusion in the game against Detroit and missing practice on Thursday. The Jazz outscored the Pistons by 12 when Neto was on the floor in the opener.

Derrick Favors also looked fantastic on Wednesday, scoring 26 points and shooting 10-15 from the floor. He put on the kind of offensive display that was hard to fathom when the Jazz traded for him as a rookie. Hopefully he can maintain a high level of consistency on the offensive end, something that has largely eluded him up to this point.

Gordon Hayward‘s game Wednesday was a little different. After establishing himself as a consistent offensive threat last season, Hayward had a pretty ho-hum game, scoring 13 points, grabbing four rebounds and notching one assist, one block, and one steal. For the Jazz to be at their best, they’ll need more involvement from Hayward.

One question coming into the game with the Sixers is how many minutes Trey Burke will play. He played 16 minutes on Wednesday, the least amount of court time he’s had in a game since December of 2013.

The other thing the Jazz need to do better is make the three-point shot. The Jazz shot just 2-12 from three-point range against the Pistons.

The 76ers

The 76ers have had a rough last few years, especially for fans. Management has taken the really long view in acquiring assets rather than trying to win much in the short term. They’ve won 37 games over the last two seasons combined–the Jazz won 38 games last season alone.

With Joel Embiid expected to miss this season after undergoing another foot surgery, this season doesn’t look very promising. But the 76ers do have some noteworthy young players players, with the frontcourt combination of Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor topping that list.

Noel is a stat-stuffer and Okafor is a very promising rookie big man. In the loss to the Celtics on Wednesday, Okafor scored 26 points and grabbed seven rebounds.

Summary and Prediction

There are some great big-man match-ups in this game. It will be fun to watch Rudy Gobert and Favors combat Noel and Okafor. Aside from that, the Jazz are the stronger team and should win this game. I’m looking for a big night from Hayward, with the three-pointers going in much more often than they did on Wednesday.

Booker will bring the energy, and the Jazz will be 1-1 after tonight.

Official prediction–Jazz 99, 76ers 90

Next: Thoughts and Observations From Jazz Loss to the Pistons

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