2/24 Utah at Milwaukee
6:00 pm MT – Root Sports/League Pass
Opponent record: 25-30
Season series: Jazz lead 1-0
The Utah Jazz made light work of the Milwaukee Bucks the last time these two teams met as Utah was able to easily dispatch them by a score of 104-88. Gordon Hayward and Rudy Gobert were both incredible that night as they put up 27 and 26 points, respectively, while shooting an extremely high percentage from the floor.
Meanwhile, Utah’s suffocating defense was able to absolutely frustrate rising superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo who was held to just nine points on 2-of-10 shooting in the Milwaukee loss. However, it’s unlikely that the Greek Freak will suffer that poor of an outing two times in a row against Utah, particularly on his home court, so the Jazz will have to be well-prepared to face him once again.
Unfortunately for the Bucks, their second best player and leading scorer in the previous contest against Utah, Jabari Parker, once again suffered an ACL tear in the same knee as his rookie season and will miss the remainder of the 2016-17 campaign. It was a tough blow for a young Bucks team and rising player with so much promise.
#Bucks guard Malcolm Brogdon on Jabari Parker's injury:
— Bally Sports Wisconsin (@BallySportWI) February 11, 2017
"Everybody was crushed yesterday and today...For me, it was worse than the loss." pic.twitter.com/1MOKsXF967
Therefore, while it’s a disappointing circumstance for them, without Parker and with Khris Middleton still working his way back from injury, it’s likely that the Bucks will struggle to close out the year and I expect those struggles to be evident against Utah on Friday.
Although Antetokounmpo is without a doubt a top NBA talent, the Jazz were able to contain him quite easily in the previous match-up and while the Bucks have some other young talent on their team, overall they are severely outmatched by Utah’s extensive depth.
Therefore, though I don’t believe it will be in quite the same blowout fashion as the previous contest, I’m predicting the Jazz to get the post-break season started out right with a comfortable road win over the Milwaukee Bucks.
My Prediction: Jazz Win
Final Score: Utah 102, Milwaukee 93