Utah Jazz Look To Bounce Back Against Los Angeles Lakers

The Utah Jazz constructed a very nice game Tuesday night despite suffering a heartbreaking loss at the hands of the Portland Trail Blazers. They will look to get back on track Friday night against the Los Angeles Lakers.

While the majority of the basketball world were focused in on watching the Golden State Warriors get annihilated by the San Antonio Spurs (which we all should’ve seen coming), nobody seemed to realize how great the Utah Jazz-Portland Trail Blazers game turned out to be.

The Jazz were a three-man offense that consisted of newcomers George Hill and Joe Johnson, as well as young star Rodney Hood. Meanwhile, the jumpers were always going down for the Blazers. I’ve been a firm believer since Kevin Durant decided to leave OKC for Golden State that Damian Lillard was a true contender for MVP, and he sure played like one.

He lit up the Jazz for 39 points and looked like the only thing keeping the Jazz from the win.

Without Gordon Hayward and Derrick Favors, the Jazz looked out of sorts from the beginning defensively. This lead to a lot of wide open threes that the Trail Blazers cashed in on, making seven of their eight three-point attempts in the first half.

A spirited comeback saw the Jazz come from 13 points down to take the lead in the third, but Lillard never stopped pouring it in, and Portland had the last laugh.

Alright. Enough about the past. The Jazz are heading back home to their newly refurbished court on Friday night to take on the Los Angeles Lakers in a ‘blue out’ where the infamous pride jerseys will be debuted. It’s the home opener for the 2016-17 season at Vivint Smart Home Arena and the Jazz are looking to capture their first win.

Oh, I almost forgot; if you don’t wear blue, Matt Harpring will find you.

The Lakers got off to a promising start on Wednesday, taking down the Houston Rockets on their home floor. The media seem fascinated by this, and I quite frankly have no idea why.

Looking at people’s predictions and power rankings heading into the season, it’s clear that people have over-inflated opinions about the Rockets. I think that calling them ‘a top-four team’ is outrageous as I see them missing the playoffs by a fair margin. Nonetheless, any win is a good win as far as the Lakers are concerned.

It won’t come as easy this time around. The Jazz will come out with a vengeance and will try to force Kobe’s 60-point game out of their memory bank.

Related Story: Utah Jazz Must Be Prepared For L.A. Lakers

Rodney Hood will be the man to watch against the Lakers. After filling it up for 26 points on 17 field goal attempts Tuesday night, look for him to be even more aggressive hunting for his shot. Getting his shot up could also be easier against the Laker defense. After all, he did score 30 in a half against them last season.

The Jazz could also have an extra hand on deck for the game. Derrick Favors has returned to practice for Utah and a return to the floor could be imminent.

The soft part of the schedule begins on Friday and ends on Sunday as they will be in Los Angeles to take on the Clippers. This will be followed by a road game in San Antonio. They will then come home to Salt Lake City to play the Mavericks and Spurs before heading out on a four-game road trip.

It’s all the more reason for them to take care of business against the Lakers.

If the Jazz can be 5-5 after their first 10 games, I would call that perfectly reasonable, which speaks to how hard the schedule actually is.

Game Data

Broadcast Info

Tip-off: 7 PM MT from Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City, UT
TV: ROOT Sports
Radio: The Zone Sports Network (97.5 FM & 1280 AM Salt Lake City)

Projected Starting Lineups 

Utah Jazz (0-1)

PG: George Hill
SG: Rodney Hood
SF: Joe Johnson
PF: Derrick Favors
C: Rudy Gobert

L.A. Lakers (1-0)

PG: D’Angelo Russell
SG: Nick Young
SF: Luol Deng
PF: Julius Randle
C: Timofey Mozgov

Injuries 

Derrick Favors hasn’t seen the court since the first preseason game against Portland with IT Band syndrome, he is listed as a game-time decision. Alec Burks (knee) and Gordon Hayward (finger) will be out for the Jazz.

Prediction 

My prediction for Friday night’s blue out is that the Jazz will get up comfortably early and the Lakers will make a run late when the Jazz ‘garbage time’ players are in, but it will be too little, too late. The Jazz stroll to a 16 point win.

Editor’s Prediction (1-0 ATS): The Westgate Superbook Las Vegas currently has Utah as 8½-point favorites in the game. I’m going to fly with my man Hayden and take the Jazz to cover. 

More from The J-Notes

• With the FIBA World Cup over for Simone Fontecchio, it’s clear he deserves minutes for the Utah Jazz
• Best, Worst and Most likely scenarios for the Utah Jazz this season
• Hoops Hype downplays the significance of the Utah Jazz’s valuable assets
• 3 Utah Jazz players who have the most to gain or lose this season
• Former Utah Jazz forward Rudy Gay is a free agent still and it shouldn’t surprise anyone

Discussion

The Twitter hashtag for Friday’s home opener against the Lakers is #LALatUTA. Check the live tweets @PurpleandBlues1. Or, if you’re an old school guy or gal, you can hit us up in the comment thread right here.

Statistics Courtesy of ESPN