The Utah Jazz are set to tip-off their most anticipated season in over a decade on Wednesday with a home bout against Chris Paul and the new-look Oklahoma City Thunder.
Opening night… It’s opening night! It’s the Utah Jazz’s latest show — will it flop or WILL IT GO?!
After the wildest summer in team history, one that saw Mike Conley, Bojan Bogdanovic, Jeff Green, Ed Davis and Emmanuel Mudiay all make their way to Utah, the Jazz band is set to strike the opening chords of what could a special season.
The team’s path to the Larry O’Brien Trophy begins on Wednesday against a club that looks equally different from last year’s iteration: Chris Paul and the Russell Westbrook/Paul George-less Oklahoma City Thunder.
Although OKC enters the contest with significantly less firepower than we’re accustomed to seeing, this is no gang of slouches, either.
CP3 likely still has some good ball left in the tank and could even see a return to form while not having to concede to James Harden every other possession. Also — Steven Adams remains the toughest SOB in the Association. Finally, former Clips Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Danilo Gallinari can put up points in a hurry.
Facing a Jazz squad that surrendered 120.6 points per 100 possessions over its last preseason games, that’s a collection of players that could go off in Salt Lake City.
That said, this is a game the Jazz should win. Donovan Mitchell was amazing in Utah’s final preseason game against the Portland Trail Blazers, dropping 27 points on 19 shots and hitting four triples, and OKC probably doesn’t have a good answer for him.
I expect Conley to confidently run the Jazz offense and, ultimately, get the better of Paul, but it will be an intriguing match-up, to be sure. So, too, will the battle in the middle between Adams and Rudy Gobert. After all, Adams is one of the few players in the league who can go blow for blow with the Stifle Tower.
Then again, he’s also more of a traditional center, which works out well for the Jazz overall from a match-up standpoint.
A lot of this comes down to chemistry and the integration of new pieces, but, in the end, the big question looming over this game is whether or not the Jazz have progressed defensively. If they don’t want to begin the season in a hole — yet again — they need to at least show some incremental improvement, particularly against a team that likely isn’t competing for a playoff spot.
Game Data
Broadcast Info
Tip-off: 7 PM MT on October 23 from Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City, UT
TV: AT&T SportsNet
Radio: The Zone Sports Network (97.5 FM & 1280 AM Salt Lake City)
Projected Starting Lineups
| Utah Jazz | Position | Oklahoma City Thunder |
| Rudy Gobert | C | Steven Adams |
| Royce O’Neale | PF | Danilo Gallinari |
| Bojan Bogdanovic | SF | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander |
| Donovan Mitchell | SG | Dennis Schroder |
| Mike Conley | PG | Chris Paul |
There’s a bit of mystery on both sides of this one with regards to starting lineups. OKC went with the above three-guard lineup a few weeks ago in an exhibition bout with the Dallas Mavericks and it worked remarkably well, combining for 43 points and 7-of-12 from distance in light duty. They didn’t utilize that starting five in subsequent games, however.
That said, I expect they’ll roll with it until Andre Roberson is back up to speed.
As for the Jazz, they went with Royce O’Neale at the power forward in their last exhibition bout with the Trail Blazers. He seems poised for a huge year and I would anticipate this will be the combination going forward, although there is a case to be made for Jeff Green as well.
Injuries
Dante Exum continues to be out for the Jazz as he rehabs his right knee. At this point, it’s hard to say when he’ll actually play again. In his stead, though, look for Emmanuel Mudiay to be the first point guard off the bench.
Meanwhile, the Thunder will be without Roberson, whose timeline has also been vague as he rehabs a left knee injury.
Prediction
Per our friends at The Action Network, the Jazz are currently nine-point favorites against the Thunder. With all the hype and good mojo coming into the game and given the fact that the Jazz are at home and at altitude, I expect them to win but I’m not sure they’ll cover the spread. Nevertheless, 82-0, here we come!
Let’s say Jazz win 112-105.
Discussion
#OKCatUTA will be the Twitter hashtag for the game. You can catch our observations on the live tweets @TheJNotes. Or hit us with your thoughts during the game in the comments below.