Prediction – Heat 98, Jazz 93
It’s not very often that I do this, but I’m actually going to change my prediction from earlier in the week and rather than pin Utah to shake their road woes and get a win, I’m going to pick the Heat as narrow winners in yet another relatively low-scoring bout. As sad as it is to say it, the Jazz have looked downright bad of late and I don’t see them fixing their issues, particularly that of playing with energy on the road, against a tough Heat team.
Each of the keys I’ve mentioned is critical in order for Utah to win, but particularly the second two don’t feel likely to happen to me. If the Jazz repeat their performance in Denver of ignoring my first key and failing to give the ball to Mitchell, it’s only going to hurt their case more. With so much going wrong of late and few solutions in sight, I’ll be almost shocked if Utah comes away with the win today.
Next: Utah Jazz: Eight potential trade targets (and how realistic they truly are)
This season is starting to look pretty discouraging for the Utah Jazz and with each loss that drops them further and further below .500, their chances of reaching the postseason appear more and more bleak. I keep hoping that they’ll turn things around and perhaps today’s contest against the Miami Heat will be that turning point, but based on how they’ve looked so far in a winless 2018, I’m definitely not counting on it.
The Jazz and Heat will tip-off at 1:30 PM MT today in a rare afternoon match-up.