The Utah Jazz have dropped five straight. If they hope to break the streak, they’ll have to keep Damian Lillard, who scored 51 on them last week, in check.
It’s game day, Utah Jazz fans! In town tonight are the Portland Trail Blazers, led by the incredible Damian Lillard, who has been a noted Jazz killer throughout his career. Let’s hope that’s not the case tonight, because the Jazz desperately need a win.
Utah has lost five in a row. One of those losses came to Lillard and the Trail Blazers, on a night where Dame dropped 51 points. It wasn’t as bad as the latest lost to Denver, who had just seven players dressed, or last week’s loss to Houston, who were without James Harden and Russell Westbrook.
The Jazz are in a bad funk right now, but they are way too talented to be down for too long. The defense has been rough during this five-game stretch, and it’ll need to improve tonight if they hope to keep Lillard in check this time around.
Portland has had a disappointing season up until this point, but they are quickly turning things around. They have won five of their last six games and are just 2.5 games out of the eighth and final playoff seed.
They lost a lot of their defense over the summer, but will always be in games with their offensive-minded back court. Utah needs to slow down that back court and let other guys beat them.
You’ll live with the results as long as Lillard isn’t pulling up from 30 feet and burying you. Get into his jersey and make him work for every single point.
I’m expecting this to be a fairly tight game. Portland’s making their push towards the playoffs, while Utah is just trying to get out of this rough patch. Both teams know that they need this win. Every game matters, especially in the Western Conference.
Game Data
Broadcast Info
Tip-off: 8:30 PM on February 7th from Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City, UT
TV: AT&T SportsNet, ESPN
Radio: The Zone Sports Network (97.5 FM and 1280 AM Salt Lake City)
Projected Starting Lineups
Utah Jazz Position Portland Trail Blazers
Rudy Gobert C Hassan Whiteside
Bojan Bogdanovic SF Trevor Ariza
Donovan Mitchell SG CJ McCollum
Mike Conley PG Damian Lillard
Injuries
The trio of Jarrell Brantley, Miye Oni and Justin Wright-Foreman are all on G-League assignment, so they will not be available for tonight’s game.
Ed Davis is doubtful to play tonight due to back spasms. The veteran center did not play in Utah’s last contest with Tony Bradley returning from injury.
Zach Collins remains out for the Blazers, as he is still recovering from shoulder surgery. He dislocated said shoulder on October 27th and had his labrum repaired. He’s hoping to be cleared early next month.
Rodney Hood is out for the season with an achilles injury. The former Jazzman was on the bench when these teams last played and had a perfect view of Lillard dropping 51 points. I wish Hood nothing but the best in his recovery.
Nassir Little is questionable to play tonight due to a sprained left ankle. He did not play in Portland’s last game against San Antonio.
Jusuf Nurkic is out for the Blazers due to a right calf strain. He had returned to practice from his gruesome leg injury, but was quickly back on the shelf. Portland is being cautious with their 25 year old center, who has yet to play in a game this season.
Prediction
I’m curious to see how the Jazz defend Damian Lillard tonight. If they can keep him in the 22-25 point range, it works in their favor. Shutting him down will be the main priority, but C.J. McCollum and Carmelo Anthony are secondary options that are certainly capable.
I’m 0-1 on my predictions so far, so let’s hope I’m right this time around. I think the Jazz come out with a sense of urgency and end their five-game losing streak tonight. I’ll go with a final score of 113-105.
Discussion
#PORatUTA is the hashtag on Twitter, and as always the comment thread will be available for some live game chatter. Go Jazz!