The J-Notes
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Utah Jazz Week 14 Outlook: Can the Jazz keep on rolling?

By Jared Woodcox

SALT LAKE CITY, UT - JANUARY 12: Rudy Gobert #27 of the Utah Jazz celebrates with his team during the game against the Chicago Bulls on January 12, 2019 at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, UT - JANUARY 12: Rudy Gobert #27 of the Utah Jazz celebrates with his team during the game against the Chicago Bulls on January 12, 2019 at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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DETROIT, MICHIGAN – JANUARY 05: Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Utah Jazz drives around Bruce Brown #6 of the Detroit Pistons during the second half at Little Caesars Arena on January 05, 2019 in Detroit, Michigan. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
DETROIT, MICHIGAN – JANUARY 05: Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Utah Jazz drives around Bruce Brown #6 of the Detroit Pistons during the second half at Little Caesars Arena on January 05, 2019 in Detroit, Michigan. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

1/14 Utah vs. Detroit

7:00 pm MT – AT&T SportsNet/League Pass

Opponent record: 18-23

Season series: Jazz lead 1-0

The last time the Jazz and Pistons faced off, it appeared early on that the Utah Jazz would find themselves in a spot of trouble. They were down by as many as 18 in the first quarter and struggled to find a groove early on. Fortunately, they managed to turn their performance around dramatically and ultimately came away with a five-point victory despite Blake Griffin‘s 34-point effort.

The Jazz have had immense success over the Pistons in recent seasons, and their close win a couple weeks ago was yet another to add to the list. As is to be expected of Detroit based on the makeup of their roster, their frontcourt duo of Griffin and Andre Drummond were prolific whereas their backcourt struggled.

The other player that really hurt the Jazz the last time around, though, was Reggie Bullock who went off for 19 points on 5-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc. He’s certainly capable of such outputs, but that kind of efficiency was definitely an unforeseen surprise.

If the Jazz are able to hold Detroit’s frontcourt in check – at least to the degree possible against a beast like Griffin – and avoid any similar surprise performances, I like their chances of continuing to dominate the Pistons, especially at home. The Pistons are just 7-13 on the road this season and are currently at the tail end of a tough Western Conference road trip.

They’ve also lost seven of their last 10 contests. Their most recent win was a Blake Griffin revenge game against the Clippers on Saturday, but I doubt Griffin will be able to reproduce the fury or effort he put in against his former team and I imagine that the heavy travel will catch up to the Pistons when they come to Salt Lake on Monday. As such, I’m expecting a fourth straight win for the Jazz to start out the week.

My Prediction: Jazz Win

Final Score: Utah 111, Detroit 101

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