Utah Jazz Week Thirteen Outlook, Predictions

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Dec 31, 2016; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Leandro Barbosa (19) dribbles the ball as Utah Jazz forward Joe Johnson (6) defends during the second half at Vivint Smart Home Arena. The Jazz won 91-86. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports /

1/16 Utah at Phoenix

7:00 pm MT – Root Sports/League Pass

Opponent record: 13-27

Season series: Jazz lead 2-0

Although the Suns are currently the last place team in the Western Conference, they’ve been known to give good teams trouble this season. Most recently, they prevailed over the red hot San Antonio Spurs in a 108-105 victory in Mexico City.

And while Utah leads the season series two games to none, both contests have been extremely hard-fought. In the first meeting, Utah blew a huge lead in the fourth quarter but managed to squeak by with a close win after Rudy Gobert threw down a reverse alley-oop off of a lob from Shelvin Mack late in the game.

In the second contest, George Hill went down early when he took a nasty elbow to the face from Alex Len and Utah had to battle hard the whole way before pulling out a five-point win that saw both teams put up just 15 points each in the final quarter. Len was quite elbow-happy in that game, so the Jazz will have to be on the lookout this time around for the not-so-gentle giant whose known for throwing bows.

While Utah should be able to win this game, it is on the Sun’s home court where they’re a considerably better 8-11 as compared to their 5-16 road record. Not to mention, Suns sharpshooter Devin Booker has been on an absolute tear in his last two contests as he’s put up a career-high 39 points in both outings.

In those games he’s shot a combined 61.9 percent from the field and a scorching 75 percent (9-of-12) from deep. It seems unlikely that he’ll be able to keep up that unbelievably efficient clip, but the Jazz will have to be prepared to contain him as well the Suns second leading scorer Eric Bledsoe who isn’t far behind Booker.

https://twitter.com/utahjazz/status/820800944816340993

Yet, while I expect yet another close game based on how Phoenix plays and how the previous contests have gone between them and the Jazz, I’m pinning the Jazz to come out on top in this one and sweep the season series 3-0.

My Prediction: Jazz Win

Final Score: Utah 106, Phoenix 101

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