Game thread: Rattled Utah Jazz squad returns to Minnesota

The struggling Utah Jazz will have a hard time getting back on track in a road game in Minnesota against a team that presents a tough matchup.

I won’t sugar coat it, this is a Utah Jazz team and fanbase that is in a state of distress currently. After an awful road trip in which the Jazz went just 1-4 and were blown out three times followed up immediately by a blowout loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, many thought the Jazz might have resolved things in a well-rounded win against the Memphis Grizzlies.

Unfortunately, based on what the Jazz showed us on Monday night, that was just a case of a bad team (the Jazz) beating up on a worse team (the Grizzlies). Utah was right back to its despicable losing ways on Monday when they hosted the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Jazz came into the game with ample rest whereas the Thunder were playing on the back end of a back-to-back and their third time in four nights. But, as wretched fate would have it, it was the Jazz who instead looked like they didn’t have any legs or heart.

The Jazz started out just fine, but collapsed late in the first and never really fought back from there. Utah retook the lead for a brief moment in the second quarter, but late in the third, OKC climbed to a double-figure lead that rose to as many as 22 in the fourth period before they finally won 104-90 in likely the ugliest Jazz loss of the season, and there’s been a lot of recent competition for that title.

The head-scratching defeat that featured poor ball movement, lackluster defense, awful communication and putrid bench play feels as if it has set the Jazz back to square one. Unfortunately, things aren’t going to get any easier as the team will head back on the road on Wednesday night.

This next contest will feature a familiar foe in the Minnesota Timberwolves, who the Jazz have already faced twice. Utah lost the first bout at home in a game where Karl-Anthony Towns went nuts from the perimeter to sink the Jazz in an ugly loss. The Jazz got revenge in Minnesota, but it was far from a pretty win either.

Fortunately for the Jazz, the Wolves are in a bit of a funk themselves as they’ve dropped five consecutive games, several of which have come in blowout fashion and three of which have come to a trio of lackluster squads in the Phoenix Suns, Memphis Grizzlies and Oklahoma City Thunder. The fact that both Utah and Minnesota were dropped by OKC is another good example of how dysfunctional both teams are right now.

Sure, the Thunder are on a bit of a hot streak, but they just aren’t that good. So Wednesday’s game between Utah and Minnesota will be against two struggling teams that will be desperate to find a way to shake off recent performances and find a win.

The bad news for the Jazz is that, even though they just won in Minnesota, they’re only 4-8 on the road. Add that to the fact that Karl-Anthony Towns has a knack for eating Rudy Gobert‘s lunch, and this could be an ugly one. Yes, Gobert got the best of KAT in the last matchup, but that will be hard to replicate, especially if Utah’s poor play continues.

Considering the woes of both of these squads, we could be in for an ugly one on Wednesday wherein the winner is determined by who makes less mistakes to give the game away.

Game Data

Broadcast Info

Tip-off: 6:00 PM MT on December 11 from Target Center in Minneapolis, MN
TV: AT&T SportsNet
Radio: The Zone Sports Network (97.5 FM & 1280 AM Salt Lake City)

Projected Starting Lineups

Injuries

The Utah Jazz will yet again be without Mike Conley in Wednesday’s competition as he continues to deal with hamstring tightness. Although he’s gotten off to early season struggles with the Jazz, it’s still been evident of late how much his presence as a scoring threat and runner of the offense has been missed.

Meanwhile for the Timberwolves, Jeff Teague is dealing with an ankle issue and is listed as a game-time decision. Considering some of the chemistry issues he’s displayed with KAT lately, perhaps his absence wouldn’t be a bad thing for Minnesota. Jake Layman will remain out as he deals with a toe injury.

Prediction

The Jazz haven’t done much of anything to instill confidence the past two weeks and, barring a miraculous turnaround, I don’t see playing a road game against a poor matchup being the right recipe to stop the slide. I hate to say it, but I don’t see the Jazz coming out on top in this one.

The Action Network actually has the Jazz as one-point favorites, and maybe that parity is realistic given how bad both teams have been lately, but I think pinning the Jazz to beat anyone at this point is generous.

I’m going with Minnesota winning 121-116.

Discussion

#UTAatMIN is the Twitter hashtag for the game and our live comment thread below will be up and rolling throughout the game as well. Go Jazz!