Stephen Curry Leading The Utah Jazz In Home Opener?

Mar 21, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) drives in against Utah Jazz forward Derrick Favors (15) during the first quarter at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

After opening the season with what most would deem a successful three-game road trip, the Utah Jazz have finally returned to Salt Lake City and will play host to the Portland Trail Blazers tonight at Vivint Smart Home Arena.

The Trail Blazers enter town with a 2-2 record, having most recently defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 106-101. The Jazz are 2-1 after throttling the Indiana Pacers on Saturday.

Unfortunately for the Blazers, they may have to contend with a certain NBA MVP while they’re in town. More on this below.

Tip-Off–7 PM MDT

Projected Starters–Utah Jazz: PG Raul Neto, SG Rodney Hood, SF Gordon Hayward, PF Trevor Booker, C Rudy Gobert

Portland Trail Blazers: PG Damian Lillard, SG C.J. McCollum, SF Al-Farouq Aminu, PF Meyers Leonard, C Mason Plumlee

Utah Jazz

Starting point guard Raul Neto has played well for the Jazz–really well. He currently leads the NBA in three-point shooting at 80 percent and is also number one in defensive rating (68.2) and second in net rating (34.9). It’s no wonder the league think’s he’s Stephen Curry—

So it’s an honest mistake and probably not something to get riled up about, but doesn’t it seem like these things happen with Jazz players at an alarming rate? If I see one more item about Gordon “Haywood” on NBA-TV, it may be time to boycott.

Still, it’s nice to know that Steph will be on the floor for the Jazz in their home opener.

While Gordon Hayward continues to struggle, the Jazz duo of Derrick Favors and Rudy Gobert are stating their case as one of the premiere big man tandems in the NBA. Favors has led the way, averaging 21 points, eight boards, two steals and a blocked shot per game.

Meanwhile, Gobert is currently second in the league in blocked shots (3.7 per game) and third in rebounds (13.3).

Speaking of Favors, he is currently listed as questionable to play with flu-like symptoms. We’ll have more updates on his status as they become available.

UPDATE: Favors will play and is expected to start–

Portland Trail Blazers

While the Jazz frontcourt has looked like the class of the league, the starting backcourt of the Trail Blazers has been equally impressive.

C.J. McCollum–a player once labeled by former Jazz assistant Gordon Chiesa as a future star on Salt Lake radio–has looked the part this season. The former No. 10 overall pick is probably the early front runner for the league’s Most Improved Player Award. He’s averaging 21.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and three assists per game.

Damian Lillard has also stormed out of the gate in grand fashion. The Weber State product is averaging 25.5 points, eight assists and more than three rebounds per contest.

One player who has not enjoyed much success early in the 2015-16 campaign is Meyers Leonard. The stretch big is only connecting on 28.1 percent of his field goal attempts and 11.8 percent from three-point range. Furthermore, Leonard and the Blazers failed to reach agreement on a contract extension before Monday’s deadline.

It’s bad times in PDX for Leonard.

Next: Score Free Tickets to the Jazz Home Opener

Prediction

Whether or not Favors is good to go for the Jazz, I suspect the team will be raring to go in front of the home crowd. Vegas currently has the Jazz as 5.5 point favorites with a total set at 189. I’m going with the Jazz to cover and taking the under.

Final Score: Jazz win, 98-89