3 Portland Trail Blazers the Utah Jazz have to prep for

The Utah Jazz have the Portland Trail Blazers next and these are the three names the team has to watch out for.

The Utah Jazz and the Portland Trail Blazers are both in the middle of a rebuild. Both teams have just three wins on the season, but somehow the Blazers have the better win percentage than the Jazz. The Blazers are just 3-6, while the Jazz are 3-7 on the year. Considering the Jazz were said to have accelerated their rebuild over the last two off-season, and should be a playoff contender in 2024, being slightly worse than the Blazers is a terrible thing.

The Blazers got a nice haul for Damian Lillard, including Jrue Holiday, who they then turned around and traded as well. They also got DeAndre Aytotn in a deal that included Jusuf Nurkic, which was just one of the many moves they made over the summer and early fall to revamp their roster.

Now squad features Scoot Henderson as their starting point guard, and are hoping that guys like Ayton can finally reach their full development in Portland. And despite the lack of major names on the team and the youth that is occupying rotations, the Blazers still are a threat to win games. They nearly knocked off the Los Angeles Lakers last week, meaning that the Jazz aren’t going to be in for an easy out with the rebuilding Blazers. But who should the Jazz really prep for?

Let’s find out.

Shaedon Sharpe

Shaedon Sharpe has taken a huge leap from his rookie season, going from 9.9 points a game to 19.8. That improvement is tied to his usage and minutes, as he was just as efficient last season. He’s become the team’s best player and if he continues at this rate, may be the new face of the franchise.

Matisse Thybulle

Currently, the team’s starting shooting guard, Matisse Thybulle isn’t known for his dynamic offense, but what he is doing with the Trail Blazers better than anyone else is hitting three-pointers. He’s averaging 38.2% per game, the highest on the team. As the Jazz have a poor perimeter defense, Thybulle is someone the Jazz have to lock and key early.

Malcolm Brogdon

Probably the most stable player and the most versatile player on the roster is Malcolm Brogdon, who came over in the Jrue Holiday trade to the Boston Celtics. He’s got a great stat line of 17 points, five assists, and nearly five rebounds, while only turning the ball over 1.6 times per game. He’s reliable and efficient and if he can raise his shooting stats, he’ll be a very in-demand player come the trade deadline.