3/11 Utah at New Orleans
2:00 pm MT – AT&T SportsNet/League Pass
Opponent record: 35-26
Season series: Jazz lead 2-1
Finally, to end the week, the Jazz will face the most daunting battle of them all – a contest against the red hot New Orleans Pelicans that could very well have major playoff implications. With a win next Sunday afternoon, the Jazz would seal the tiebreaker over the Pelicans, which could be huge depending on how New Orleans finishes out the year.
The last time Utah and New Orleans faced off, the Pelicans caught them right in the middle of their incredible winning streak and the Jazz looked like a force that could not be stopped as they won in commanding fashion 133-109. Ironically, that came in a game where Donovan Mitchell was struggling with illness and finished with just two points in 19 minutes while former Jazzman Rodney Hood (30 points) and Ricky Rubio (20 points) led the way for Utah.
Obviously, the game plan will have to change somewhat for the Jazz this time around, but as crucial as a game as this will be, I like Utah’s chances. Derrick Favors was phenomenal in the last meeting as he appeared to be out for blood against Nikola Mirotic, who several rumors had pinned as a trade target for the Jazz, presumably to replace Faves.
Not only that, but Utah fared extremely well against Anthony Davis in that contest. Between Favors and Rudy Gobert, Utah has actually had pretty good luck against AD in games past, so I like their chances. Davis has been on an absolute mission of late as he’s putting up incredible numbers and the Pelicans are certainly going to know what’s at stake in this game. But I still think that this is a favorable matchup for the Jazz, as they’ve shown in winning two of the three contests so far.
With that being the case, while I expect an absolute battle, I think the Jazz will figure out a way to hold AD in check and stop the rest of the pesky Pelicans to earn a monumental victory to close out the week.
My Prediction: Jazz Win
Final Score: Utah 106, New Orleans 104
Next: Utah Jazz: Trey Burke has been kind of amazing for the Knicks
I’m truly looking forward to what should be an exhilarating week for the Jazz. Although I’ve pinned them to go a solid 3-1, the games against Indiana and New Orleans could really go either way. I feel confident that the Jazz will take care of business against Orlando and Memphis, but those other two are going to be dogfights.
Despite how hot the Jazz have been of late (they’ve won 14 of their last 16), they still find themselves in 10th in the West, which means their work is far from done. Some of their counterparts in the West have very tough stretches coming up in Week 21, though, so if Utah can take advantage in this four-game span, they may finally be able to gain some ground.
It doesn’t get much more intense than this. The next four games should be an absolute thrill ride for Utah Jazz fans.