Game thread: Jazz’s Mitchell and 76ers’ Simmons rekindle ROY rivalry

After falling short against the LA Clippers on Sunday, Donovan Mitchell and the Utah Jazz face another tough opponent in Ben Simmons and the Philadelphia 76ers.

The Utah Jazz’s performance against Kawhi Leonard and the LA Clippers on Sunday was, well…less than stellar. Mike Conley reverted to slump mode with a 2-for-10 shooting night, the Jazz were out-rebounded by the Clippers by a significant margin and the Jazz defense crumbled in final carom as LA reeled off 40 points.

But if you were hoping the Jazz band could ease back into its groove with a gimme game, you’ll be disappointed; next up for Quin Snyder’s crew is the East-leading Philadelphia 76ers (5-1).

There are multiple of big storylines in play as the Jazz look to improve their record to 5-3 on the new year. Without question, this is a measuring-stick game; a chance for Utah to prove its worth at home against a quality opponent. The game will also feature the return of All-Star big man Joel Embiid after his altercation with the T-Wolves’ Karl-Anthony Towns. His battle with Rudy Gobert always packs a punch.

It will be a homecoming of sorts for former Jazzmen Trey Burke and Raul Neto, too.

For me though, this one is all about the ongoing war between Donovan Mitchell and Ben Simmons, who famously duked it out for Rookie of the Year honors during the 2017-18 campaign.

Mitchell has looked like an MVP candidate in the early going. Over his first seven games, the third-year star is averaging 26 points, five boards and three assists per game while shooting over 50 percent from the floor and 44 percent from distance. Simmons, meanwhile, continues to be one of the game’s best all-around players.

The Aussie is putting up a 15-8-6 line thus far and is second in the league in steals at 3.3 per contest.

Simmons and the Sixers have gotten the better of the Jazz in head-to-head match-ups, with Mitchell and Co. losing all four bouts between the teams. Moreover, Mitchell has shot under 34 percent from the field in those games. That said, the Jazz may find an advantage in that Mitchell is rolling and Philly is in the midst of a four-game Western swing.

Game Data

Broadcast Info

Tip-off: 7 PM MT on November 6 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

Injuries

Big man Ed Davis is out for the forseeable future after suffering a fractured left fibula last week. Emmanuel Mudiay will also miss the game as he continues to deal with a hamstring issue.

Although he remains out for this one, all signs are pointing toward a Dante Exum return sooner rather than later. He has been participating in five-on-five and went through a full practice on Wednesday.

For the Sixers, Shake Milton is out with a bone bruise and a mild sprain in his left knee. He’s expected to be reevaluated after Philly’s current road trip. Meanwhile, Embiid is back in action after serving his two-game suspension for the Towns incident.

Prediction

Per the pros at The Action Network, the Jazz are slight favorites in this one, opening at a minus-two. While these odds are always intended more to drive betting action as opposed to predicting actual results, this one rings true to me.

I expect it will be a back-and-forth battle between two of the best squads in the Association. In the end, though, I’m looking for the Jazz to pull out a tight win.

I’m going with the Jazz over the Sixers, 107-103.

Discussion

#PHIatUTA is the Twitter hashtag for the game; you can follow our in-game tweets @TheJNotes. For the old school crowd, the comment thread will be right here and rolling throughout the contest. Go Jazz!