Utah Jazz 2017-18 Week Five Outlook, Predictions

11/17 Utah at Brooklyn

5:30 pm MT – AT&T SportsNet/League Pass

Opponent record: 5-8

Season series: Jazz lead 1-0

In an odd turn of events, the Utah Jazz will play their second and final game against the Brooklyn Nets less than a week after playing them for the first time in Week 3. The Nets deserve all the credit in the world for hanging tough and pushing the Jazz to the limit last week, but ultimately the Jazz were able to come out on top.

Brooklyn is a much-improved team over last season with some nice pieces both young and old, but all in all they are still a ways away from being a true competitor against teams from either conference. Nevertheless, at third in the league in points per game, there’s no denying that this team can score and is capable of catching opponents off guard. But on the other hand Brooklyn has a putrid defense which should allow the Jazz to take advantage.

Not to mention, their leading scorer D’Angelo Russell suffered a left knee contusion in the Nets’ loss to the Jazz on Saturday and as such is projected to miss several upcoming games which will likely include Friday’s upcoming bout against the Jazz. Russell has been phenomenal this year with 20.9 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game and there’s no questioning that he’ll be missed.

With Russell out of the mix, I expect the Jazz will enjoy a similar performance as they did last week and arise victorious once again. The Nets are a team that can’t be slept on, but are still very much beatable and that ought to hold true for the Jazz once again this week.

My Prediction: Jazz Win

Final Score: Utah 111, Brooklyn 100