Utah Jazz Week 11 Outlook: Can Jazz turn the corner?

12/25 Utah vs. Portland

8:30 pm MT – ESPN

Opponent record: 19-14

Season series: Jazz lead 1-0

The long-awaited Christmas Day game is finally here. I think most Jazz fans were surprised to see their team selected to play on one of the NBA’s premier days, and what an awesome experience it should be.

Utah will go up against the Portland Trail Blazers, who they recently walloped in Portland. Don’t expect the Blazers to roll over this time around, though. Rather, with this game taking place on an immense national stage and with Portland anxious to get revenge and prove that the recent blowout loss was little more than a fluke, you can bet they’ll come out ready to play.

The Jazz played excellent defense against Portland in that recent bout, holding Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum to a paltry 12-of-31 shooting combined. Utah also received significant contributions from the bench, namely Jae Crowder, Kyle Korver and Dante Exum.

The Jazz will need all that and more if they hope to pull off a nationally televised thriller on Christmas Day. They’ve historically struggled against Lillard in the past so they’ll need to have a repeat performance against him.

I truly think this is going to be a battle, and that the last game’s result shouldn’t even be taken into consideration. Nevertheless, based on how improved the Jazz have looked of late, I’m pinning them to come out on top on their home court on this immense stage. Ideally, Donovan Mitchell will also utilize the enlarged stage as an opportunity to strut his stuff and break out of his recent slump, but as his team proved last game, that won’t necessarily be a necessity for them to win.

My Prediction: Jazz Win

Final Score: Utah 111, Portland 107