Utah Jazz Week Five Outlook: Familiar foes on the road

11/16 Utah at Philadelphia

5:00 pm MT – AT&T SportsNet/League Pass

Opponent record: 8-6

Season series: Tied 0-0

The Memphis Grizzlies, who Utah will face in the first game of the week, are no slouch. But beginning Friday in Philadelphia is where Week Five really takes a tough turn. This bout against the Philadelphia 76ers should be a lot of fun and a tough matchup for both parties. Of course, Jazz fans and Donovan Mitchell will have a chip on their shoulder as this contest features the Rookie of the Year runner-up facing the winner Ben Simmons, so that will be a dynamic that will be key to watch.

Beyond that, though, this will be an exciting contest against two rising squads. Joel Embiid is off to an MVP-level start this season, but he’s had a tendency to duck out of games against Rudy Gobert. I don’t see any way Embiid misses this one, though, so seeing how those two perform and react to one another is going to be an absolute treat.

Not only that, but of course the big story to conclude last week was that the Philadelphia 76ers had traded to bring in Jimmy Butler. On paper, the three-headed beast of Embiid, Simmons and Butler is a daunting crew. All three are fierce competitors and solid players that could definitely cause some issues in the Eastern Conference.

However, it’s also going to take them some time to gel, and the Jazz may benefit from playing against them while they’re still in the growing stages. Jimmy Butler is likely to play his first game with the Sixers on Wednesday against the Orlando Magic, assuming he is no longer plagued by the ‘general soreness’ that kept him out of some games for Minnesota, meaning he’ll have just one contest under his belt before facing the Jazz.

Because of his lack of cohesion with his teammates during that early adjustment period, I like Utah’s chances of being able to take advantage of an adapting Sixers team. That doesn’t mean that I think this trio can’t be dominant, they certainly have the potential to be, but in this early going, I think the Jazz will find a way to come out on top.

This is probably a story for a different day, but I must also add that I am somewhat concerned about how this new-look Sixers team is going to fare. As we saw in Minnesota, Butler has a bullish personality that some find it hard to get along with. With both he and Embiid having ‘alpha mentalities’ and strong personalities, this could very well lead to some conflict down the road.

Not only that, but Philly just traded away two of its best 3-point shooters in Robert Covington and Dario Saric. Saric isn’t off to the greatest start from deep this season, but he went over 39 percent a year ago. Meanwhile, Covington has evolved into an effective 3-and-D player, who was likewise off to a career-best 39 percent start from deep this season.

In exchange, they’ve added Jimmy Butler who, although he’s a heck of a player, is only considered a mediocre 3-point threat with a career mark of 34.1 percent. That could be an alarming development for a Sixers team that already ranks just 22nd in the league in 3-point percentage at 33 percent. Sure, they still have sharpshooter J.J. Redick and rising rookie Landry Shamet, but I think their spacing and perimeter shooting will be something to watch.

Having a group of stars is a nice theory, but when they aren’t equipped with shooting role players to spread the floor, it can lead to several struggles. Just ask the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Sixers will be interesting to monitor, particularly after trading away two of their best deep threats, and I expect the Jazz to take advantage of a Philly team (one that’s been inconsistent already this year anyway) while they aim to get their feet beneath them.

My Prediction: Jazz Win

Final Score: Utah 107, Philadelphia 101