10/7 Utah at Portland
7:00 pm MT – AT&T SportsNet/League Pass
By the fourth game of the preseason slate, the Utah Jazz will face perhaps their toughest challenge of the mix. Not only will they take on a talented Portland Trail Blazers squad, but they’ll do so on the road for the first time of the 2018-19 season.
Portland is a notoriously hard place to win as their rowdy fans will look to spur their team on to a great start that will hopefully produce a second straight season in the top-3 in the West. Quite frankly, while I believe the Blazers will yet again be a good team this year with the likes of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum leading the charge, I highly doubt they’ll be able to finish that high this time around.
“Together, we are strong. Together, we are determined. Together, we are the fabric of Rip City.” pic.twitter.com/W6he09KXgI
— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) September 19, 2018
Nevertheless, they’re a scrappy squad with an exceptional coach and a ruthless home court. Their daunting backcourt will provide a good early test for Ricky Rubio and Donovan Mitchell, and if Jusuf Nurkic has continued to improve his game, he’ll be a nice matchup for Rudy Gobert.
When all is said and done in this contest, I’m pinning the Blazers to come out on top as Utah works to get accustomed to playing on the road. However, it should be a closely-fought bout and truly could go either way.
My Prediction: Blazers Win
Final Score: Portland 98, Utah 92