10/28 Utah Jazz vs. Los Angeles Lakers: Keys to the Game

The Utah Jazz will look to get back on track after two ugly losses as they host the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday night in Salt Lake City.

After defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder last Saturday night, Utah Jazz fans were riding high, feeling great about the team’s 2017-18 prognosis and likely already setting money aside for use in April to purchase playoff tickets. However, mere days later, it felt like the wheels had fallen off for the Jazz as they dropped two games in miserable fashion, first to the Los Angeles Clippers, then to the Phoenix Suns.

The first loss wasn’t completely unexpected as the Clippers (who remain undefeated) have looked solid to start out the year and figured to be a tough opponent. Sure, the lack of competitiveness the Jazz exhibited was concerning, but it wasn’t enough to fully sound the alarm. However, the second loss to an abysmal Phoenix Suns team coming off of a coach firing was absolutely an embarrassment.

In the blink of an eye, the loss to the Suns sent several Jazz fans into a disheartened downwards spiral, in which several doubts and concerns about the team – principally on the offensive end – rose to the forefront.

Yet, life goes on for the Jazz and after two days of regrouping, they’ll be back at it again on Saturday night as they’ll host the Los Angeles Lakers who aren’t looking like a powerhouse by any stretch of the imagination, but are coming off of a solid win over the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night. And based on how much the Jazz struggled against a presumably hapless Phoenix team, they’ll absolutely have to be prepared if they hope to get back on track.

Luckily, they’ll be back within the friendly confines of Vivint Smart Home Arena (where they’re undefeated, whereas they are winless on the road), so that should provide a nice boost. If Utah can thrive on that energy and also excel in these key areas, they should be able to come away with a much-needed win to raise their record back up to .500.