10/30 Utah vs. Dallas
7:00 pm MT – AT&T SportsNet/League Pass
Opponent record: 1-6
Season series: Tied 0-0
After dropping consecutive games to the LA Clippers and Phoenix Suns last week, it was quite clear that the Jazz had several kinks to work out. Fortunately, after that pair of games they had two days off before taking on a young and inexperienced Lakers team that was playing on the second night of a back-to-back. The Jazz were far from perfect in their win over the Lakers, but it was good to see them finally get the W and patch up some areas of concern for them.
And luckily for the Jazz, although their last three games of this week are going to be quite daunting, they’ll have yet another chance to iron out a few more wrinkles on Monday against a lackluster Dallas Mavericks team first. The Mavericks are currently dead last in the Western Conference at 1-6 and have quite frankly looked pretty out of sync on both ends of the floor.
This largely has to do with a simple lack of talent as the Mavs are working to reload and re-establish a new identity. It’s bound to be a long season for Dallas, but that doesn’t mean that the Jazz can come in complacent. The Mavericks boast some gifted players such as the team’s leading scorer Harrison Barnes, former Jazzman Wesley Matthews, outstanding rookie Dennis Smith Jr. and of course the ageless Dirk Nowitzki.
Dennis Smith Jr.'s hangtime needs some attention. pic.twitter.com/yMinQFe8vb
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) October 29, 2017
They also have one of the most reputed coaches in the league in Rick Carlisle who, despite not having that formidable of a team overall, tends to excel at getting the most out of what he’s got. Therefore, while the Jazz will have some wiggle room against a mediocre Dallas team, they’ll also need to be fully prepared for a challenge.
Even so, I predict that the Jazz will come out on top in this one. They’ve been phenomenal at home so far on the season and Dallas has struggled to beat anyone up to this point. Hopefully the Jazz can utilize a victory over the Mavericks to further boost their confidence and momentum, fix a few more of their errors and springboard into the rest of what will be a very difficult week.
My Prediction: Jazz Win
Final Score: Utah 106, Dallas 97