Game thread: Utah Jazz aim to avoid result of last contest in Memphis

The Utah Jazz will return to Memphis on Friday to do battle with the Grizzlies who defeated them in disappointing fashion just two weeks ago.

The Utah Jazz find themselves in a bit of a slump as they’ve lost two consecutive games on their current five-game road trip, and almost blew big leads in each of their narrow wins in the two contests before that. In other words, it’s been about as much of a rocky and up-and-down start for the Jazz as fans have come to expect through the years, even though there were hopes that this year’s squad could be a bit more consistent.

On Friday, they’ll travel to the site of one of their ugliest losses of the season thus far when they visit the Memphis Grizzlies. The Grizzlies have some enticing young pieces, most notably second overall draft pick and current Rookie of the Year frontrunner Ja Morant. However, that still doesn’t mean they’re a good team because, well, frankly they’re not.

Memphis is just 5-12 on the year, the second-worst mark in the Western Conference, and they’re coming off of five straight losses. Three of those defeats were blowouts and one was against a lowly Golden State Warriors team.

In short, the Jazz had no business losing to the Grizzlies in that earlier contest, but alas, they did. The game featured a stellar showing from Morant and several other Memphis players like Jae Crowder, Dillon Brooks and Kyle Anderson stepping up whereas the Jazz largely faltered.

Yes, it was an emotional homecoming for Mike Conley, but that still wasn’t an excuse for his horrific 5-of-19 outing. Meanwhile, Donovan Mitchell was inefficient and the Jazz bench was unproductive, leading to a one-point loss that was akin to a gut punch to the far more talented Jazz team.

With that backdrop, the Jazz will come into Memphis looking to right their former wrongs and avoid a similar result as last time. To the Grizzlies’ credit, they’ve been dangerous this year. They’re coming off a two-point loss to the elite LA Clippers on Wednesday and lost to the Los Angeles Lakers by a mere point a few days before that.

As Utah found out, they aren’t to be underestimated. And considering that they’ll be at home and will have confidence from toppling the Jazz in the last meeting, the Salt Lake City squad will have to be highly focused and execute far better if they are to avoid back-to-back disappointing defeats within the FedEx Forum.

Game Data

Broadcast Info

Tip-off: 6:00 PM MT on November 29 from FedEx Forum in Memphis, TN
TV: AT&T SportsNet
Radio: The Zone Sports Network (97.5 FM & 1280 AM Salt Lake City)

Projected Starting Lineups

Injuries

The injury report is fortunately looking pretty sparse for both teams. Memphis has Kyle Anderson, who surprisingly torched the Jazz last time these two teams met, listed as questionable for the contest with right heel soreness. Meanwhile, the Jazz got a surprising update that Ed Davis is no longer listed as out, but rather as questionable for Friday’s bout.

Davis had been recovering from a fibula fracture, so the fact that he may be making a return so soon is a reassuring sign.

Prediction

It’s gotten to the point where it feels daring to side with the inconsistent Jazz, especially on the road where they’re a measly 3-6 and even more in Memphis against a team that has seemed to have their number the past couple years (Jazz have lost four of their last five against the Grizz).

Even so, the brutal truth is that the Grizzlies just aren’t a good team this year as they look to rebuild and revamp for the future, so I have a hard time seeing a talented Jazz team – even one that’s struggling lately – falling to them twice within the span of two weeks.

According to The Action Network, the Jazz are 7.5-point favorites. I feel that is pretty accurate and will go with Utah winning 112-104.

Discussion

#UTAatMEM is the Twitter hashtag for the rematch in Memphis. The live comment thread below will be up and rolling throughout the game as well. Go Jazz!