10/10 Utah Jazz at Los Angeles Lakers: Keys to the Game

The Utah Jazz will look to finish preseason with a perfect 5-0 record as they take on the Los Angeles Lakers on the road tonight.

The Utah Jazz are heading into their final preseason game with a perfect 4-0 record. Although their competition has been less than riveting, the Jazz have still shown plenty of reassuring signs that they are in for an exceptional season and could very well be primed to surprise several folks who had them pinned as underachievers in 2017-18.

And while the Los Angeles Lakers team that they’ll be taking on tonight likely doesn’t qualify as all that much more challenging of an opponent, it will still be good to see how the Jazz perform and adapt against a new NBA opponent. The Lakers don’t figure to be a playoff contender this season, but they have plenty of young and promising talent that could make them a dangerous team on any given night.

They also logged their first preseason win on Sunday as they knocked off the Sacramento Kings by a score of 75 to 69. The low scoring output they held the Kings to was a new look for the Lakers as their defense hadn’t been much to write home about up to that point.

Therefore, given that LA now has a win under their belt and because Utah will be playing on the second night of a back-to-back and likely resting many of their key guys for the majority or the entirety of tonight’s contest, the Jazz will have to be very much on top of their game, particularly in the following key areas, if they hope to come away with a fifth straight win tonight.

Key #1 – Continue to Force Turnovers

Although the Utah Jazz were a great team defensively last year, they weren’t exactly known for being disruptive to the extent that they logged a lot of steals and forced several turnovers. However, with guys like Ricky Rubio, Thabo Sefolosha and Donovan Mitchell added to the mix, that could certainly change this upcoming season and if Monday’s victory over the Phoenix Suns was any indication, then the Jazz are certainly off to a good start in that area.

Utah forced an incredible 31 turnovers in that victory which led to an astounding 47 points. Sure, some of that was due to the fact that Phoenix is an inexperienced team that was clearly overwhelmed by Utah’s suffocating defense, but given that the Lakers are a similar squad, the Jazz will hopefully be able to capitalize by doing the exact same thing to them.

The Lakers have averaged a relatively hefty 18.3 turnovers per game thus far in the preseason, so if Utah can similarly take advantage of that tendency to turn the ball over, they should be in great shape to end preseason with a perfect 5-0 record.

Key #2 Contain Kyle Kuzma

It may be hard for some to believe, but the Lakers’ leading scorer during the preseason so far hasn’t been the highly touted rookie Lonzo Ball, it hasn’t been supposed rising star Brandon Ingram and it hasn’t been veteran Brook Lopez. In fact, none of those guys have even come close.

No, instead, much to the delight of Ute fans everywhere, LA’s most impressive preseason player and leading scorer thus far has been former University of Utah standout Kyle Kuzma. Kuzma has absolutely taken the league by storm in this early-going as he’s led his Lakers squad with 19.5 points per game on an outrageous 62 percent shooting from the field. His versatility on offense has quickly turned him into the Lakers’ most dangerous weapon thus far.

Is that highly efficient shooting maintainable? Probably not. But either way, he’s provided an exceptional, and in some ways unexpected, spark for this Lakers team and the Jazz will need to show that they can slow down a guy who undoubtedly has been on a hot streak.

While Kuzma has been solid from the floor, he’s struggled somewhat from deep where he’s shot just 30 percent on 20 attempts. His ability to stretch the floor is certainly there, but if the Jazz can force him into settling for shots from long distance, they may very well be able to slow him down overall.

They did a solid job on both of Phoenix’s leading scorers from last year – Eric Bledsoe and Devin Booker – in their two most recent contests, so seeing how they handle a guy like Kuzma who’s been electrifying so far will be intriguing to watch. And if they’re able to neutralize him tonight, given that he’s been such a big part of the Laker offense, it should allow the Jazz to come away with a win.

Key #3 – Keep Up the Outrageous Offense

Utah’s biggest question mark coming into this season was without a doubt regarding their offense and how they were going to put up enough points to stay afloat. Surprisingly though, the Jazz have been absolutely phenomenal on that side of the court. So much so that, while you may find this hard to believe (seriously, though, brace yourself), the Jazz are actually putting up the second highest number of points per game in the entire league heading into tonight’s contests.

I know, I know, it’s preseason and the Jazz have played two non-NBA teams and the dismal Phoenix Suns twice. But still, the fact that they’re putting up 114.3 points per game which is second only to the Houston Rockets and is above the likes of the Golden State Warriors, Portland Trail Blazers and Denver Nuggets who are known as offensive juggernauts is pretty telling.

While I in no way expect Utah to maintain that high level of scoring throughout the regular season, it’s a nice sign that perhaps this team won’t be as offensively challenged as many thought. And with their incredible defense, that better-than-expected offense should help the Jazz be much more competitive than they were projected.

And especially in games such as the one tonight against a lackluster defensive Lakers squad, the Jazz ought to have a hay-day. Not only will their superb defense be able to keep Los Angeles in check, but if they’re able to also include their apparently prolific offense into the mix, the Jazz should very well run away with the victory.

Utah has posted over 100 points in each of their preseason contests, which included a 120-point outpouring last night in Phoenix. The Lakers, meanwhile, have averaged just 96.3 points per game thus far, although Sunday’s 75-point output surely hurt their overall average as they had been averaging just over 103 points per game before that.

Nevertheless, even a 103-point average wouldn’t be enough to outgun what the Jazz have been doing of late. Utah’s offense has been undeniably impressive and if that trend continues tonight, there will be little the Lakers can do to slow them down.

Prediction – Jazz 106, Lakers 94

Although the Jazz have averaged over 114 points per game so far in the preseason, since they’re playing on the second night of a back-to-back and will likely play their starters for very limited minutes, I expect they’ll come back to earth somewhat tonight. Nevertheless, considering that the Lakers defense is far from daunting, I don’t expect that drop-off to be all that dramatic.

The Lakers have shown some promise in preseason so far, but they’re still far away from being able to match the talent and, perhaps more crucially, the depth of the Utah Jazz. Utah’s well-rounded attack that goes even well into their depth chart ought to prove more than the Lakers can handle, thus I’m expecting a 12-point Utah victory tonight.

Next: Utah Jazz: What can we expect from Donovan Mitchell’s rookie campaign?

While I always say that it’s important to not put too much stock into preseason, for better or for worse, there’s still no denying that Utah has shown a lot of promise so far. And if they can top off their performance up to this point with a victory tonight that will put them at 5-0, that will be absolutely exceptional for their confidence heading into the regular season.

It’s been a refreshing start for the Jazz in the early going of the 2017-18 campaign, but the start of the regular season will be the true test. Fortunately, we won’t have to wait long to see what the Jazz can truly do as their season opener is just over a week away.