Utah Jazz at Indiana Pacers Preview: Jazz aim to close out road trip strong

The Utah Jazz visit the Indiana Pacers in the final game of their five-game road trip in what could be a lucky break for the Jazz if the banged-up Victor Oladipo is unable to play.

The Utah Jazz have had an up and down road trip thus far, sitting at 2-2 on the trip with one game remaining. Their final stop will be in Indianapolis on Monday where they’ll take on a staunch Indiana Pacers team that’s off to a great start of 10-6, good for third in the Eastern Conference.

The Indiana Pacers largely flew under the radar last season as coming into the year, many had them pinned as a lower-tier team. However, they enjoyed overwhelming success thanks to the breakout season of Victor Oladipo and have been as impressive as ever to start out this year. For that reason, the Jazz will have to be well-prepared if they hope to come out victorious against a tough Indy team.

The Jazz may be catching somewhat of a break on Monday, though, as Victor Oladipo is listed as questionable for the contest. The Jazz have been very fortunate this season in that they’ve faced multiple teams that have been missing their All-Star players, and it appears that such could be the case again. Oladipo was questionable with knee soreness leading up to Saturday’s contest against the Atlanta Hawks, then went on to play for under five minutes before leaving the game for good.

Considering that he was on the floor for such a short period of time, it wouldn’t surprise me one bit if he and the Pacers opted to err on the side of caution this time around and hold him out entirely. If such is the case, Utah’s chances of winning will go up exponentially. Oladipo is by far the Pacers’ best player, and the void that he’ll leave on both ends of the floor will likely be catastrophic for Indy.

They did manage to win without him on Saturday, but that was against the lowly Atlanta Hawks, so it wasn’t exactly the best example. Even if Victor doesn’t play, though, the Pacers still have some prolific players that the Jazz will have to be ready for. Two of them just so happen to come off the bench – Domantas Sabonis and Tyreke Evans.

Sabonis and Evans are Indy’s third and fourth leading scorers and are a big reason why their second unit has been so formidable. Much like the Jazz, at times the Pacers starters have struggled and their reserves have had to pick up the slack, so watching those second units go to battle against one another will be an absolute thrill.

Bojan Bogdanovic has also been a force for the Pacers thus far as he has shot the lights out through the first 16 games. He’s shooting 52.3 percent from the field and 52.2 percent from deep to average 14.7 points per game. He also continues to be an underrated defender despite a perceived lack of athleticism. In all, Indiana is a complete team, but of course the star talent of Oladipo takes them to another level entirely.

So therein lies the dilemma, if Oladipo plays, I think that the Pacers will have the edge over the Jazz. Not only will Indy’s depth give the Jazz problems, but they’re solid on their home court and feature a starting line up where all five can stretch the floor, which is something the Jazz have struggled with. Furthermore, with how up and down the Jazz have been this season, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them undergo a downturn despite coming off a thrilling win over the Boston Celtics on Saturday.

However, if Oladipo doesn’t play, then I think the Jazz, despite their inconsistencies, will find a way to get it done. The Pacers simply aren’t the same team without Oladipo, even with their extensive number of solid role players. Rudy Gobert, Derrick Favors and Jae Crowder will have their work cut out for them against the likes of Myles Turner, Domantas Sabonis and Thaddeus Young. But if Oladipo can’t go, Donovan Mitchell and the rest of Utah’s backcourt should be able to thrive.

Since I’m leaning towards the belief that the Pacers will indeed rest Oladipo for this contest, I’m going to go ahead and pin the Jazz as winners, but just know that if he plays, it could change the dynamic and this prediction entirely.

Prediction: Jazz 102, Pacers 97

I’ve often thought that the Utah Jazz and Indiana Pacers are very similar franchises in their respective conferences, and evenly matched as small market teams that always seem to exceed expectations. In fact, the two squads are actually an identical 43-43 against one another, adding further credence to that statement.

With such being the case, expect an exciting and hard-fought bout on Monday night. Both of these teams are aiming to be among the best in their respective conferences and even at this early juncture of the season, they both figure to be competitive. The Pacers want to remain solidly in the top three in the East, while the Jazz need to turn things around from a slow start to prove that they can truly become one of the West’s best teams.

This has all the looks of a classic, especially if Oladipo is indeed able to suit up. The Utah Jazz and Indiana Pacers tip-off at 5:00 PM MT on Monday.