Home sweet home.
After a six-game road trip that spanned 10 days, three time zones and five teams currently in the playoff picture, the Jazz finally return to the comfortable confines of Vivint Arena in search of a victory to help turn things around with the postseason just a few weeks away.
“I believe we can be good,” head coach Quin Snyder. “We have been good. … We are good. That’s an exciting prospect.”
The good news for Utah is that they’ll face a team looking for a win as badly as they are when the Los Angeles Lakers come to town. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. MST on TNT.
“It feels good. … It’s just staying the course.”https://t.co/Zo6Wt2GeEc
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) March 13, 2022
For the Jazz, they’re amidst a season-long five-game losing streak, all of which came on the road. They’ve dropped from the No. 3 seed one week ago to the No. 6 seed, a half-game behind No. 5 Denver — who the Jazz have the tiebreaker over. A victory would put them back in the No. 5 seed, just two games behind No. 3 Dallas and No. 4 Golden State, two teams Utah currently holds the tiebreaker over.
But they’ll enter Thursday night following one of their most difficult losses of the season.
After leading by 25 points in the third quarter and 16 in the fourth, Utah was outscored 39-21 over the final 12 minutes in their Monday night loss to the LA Clippers.
When speaking postgame, the ordinarily stoic Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert had candid and very honest assessments of what had just taken place and where the team could go from here.
“We don’t get our hands dirty. … It’s just again and again and again,” Gobert said. “It’s the essence of the way we play. I think it bites us. It’s like, we just let go. At this point, good teams just know how to get to us. We just get disconnected.”
While Gobert responded with very clear and concise answers, Mitchell appeared to take the loss even harder. Struggling to turn his thoughts into words, Mitchell was in shock over what had just happened, vowing to be better.
“It’s the same stuff,” Mitchell said while shaking his head. “I mean, it feels the same way. It’s the same thing. … This is literally the same thing.”
“I was tired of it.”
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) March 17, 2022
If there is a positive to take from this road trip — and the loss to the Clippers — it’s that the Jazz are nearing full health again. Still decimated by injuries, Utah played the final three games of its trip with starter Bojan Bogdanovic and reserves Hassan Whiteside and Danuel House Jr., both of whom play massive roles within the team.
While Whiteside is still sidelined with a right foot sprain, Bogdanovic and House will both be suited up and playing. That alone should bring massive optimism to a team that needs a secondary-scorer (Bogdanovic) and an elite wing player (House).
“We have enough veteran players on the team to put the group back together, no matter how bad we are playing in certain moments,” Bogdanovic said Thursday morning.
“I said I was going to try and be in the NBA one day, and now I am. Once I got the opportunity, I wanted to take advantage of it.”https://t.co/I9IBtjXVo8 https://t.co/CMCGgapis0
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) March 17, 2022
While the Jazz appear to be on their way towards good health, the Lakers find themselves in the opposite position. LeBron James is listed as out and is back in Los Angeles receiving treatment for his sprained left ankle, while Anthony Davis is listed as doubtful as he’s recovering from a right mid-foot sprain.
A little bit of everything in this one #InstantRewind | @socios pic.twitter.com/rURdy6RX3y
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) March 30, 2022
STATS
Utah (45-31, 26-11 home / No. 6 Western Conference)
Offense
*113.3 Points Per Game (No. 7 in NBA)
*116.1 Offensive Rating (No. 1 in NBA)
Defense
*107.8 Points Per Game (No. 10 in NBA)
*110.4 Defensive Rating (No. 12 in NBA)
*Donovan Mitchell: 26.0 points / 5.4 assists / 4.2 rebounds / 1.5 steals
*Rudy Gobert: 15.2 points / 14.6 rebounds / 2.1 blocks / 71.0% shooting
*Bojan Bogdanovic: 18.1 points / 4.3 rebounds / 39.2% 3P-shooting
*Jordan Clarkson: 16.1 points / 3.4 rebonds / 2.4 assists
Los Angeles (31-44, 11-26 away / No. 10 Western Conference)
Offense
*111.5 Points Per Game (No. 11 in NBA)
*109.6 Offensive Rating (No. 24 in NBA)
Defense
*114.5 Points Per Game (No. 27 in NBA)
*112.4 Defensive Rating (No. 21 in NBA)
*Russell Westbrook: 18.2 points / 7.5 rebounds / 7.1 assists
*Malik Monk: 13.4 points / 3.3 rebounds / 39.2% 3P-shooting
*Carmelo Anthony: 13.3 points / 4.2 rebounds / 38.3% 3P-shooting
MATCHUP TO WATCH
*Mike Conley vs. Russell Westbrook
— It what was arguably is most impressive game of the season, Conley showed his value and worth against the Clippers with 19 points, three rebounds, and two assists. His ability to control the tempo of the game was clinical, which is why he finished with a +8 rating. For the Lakers, Westbrook will have to turn back the clock and prove that he’s still an elite point guard as James and Davis are expected out.
INJURY REPORT
Utah
QUESTIONABLE — Bojan Bogdanovic (Left calf strain)
QUESTIONABLE — Danuel House (Left knee bone bruise)
OUT — Hassan Whiteside (Right Foot Sprain)
OUT — Udoka Azubuike (Right ankle sprain)
OUT — Trent Forrest (Concussion protocol)
Los Angeles
QUESTIONABLE — Wenyen Gabriel (Left ankle sprain)
DOUBTFUL — Anthony Davis (Right mid-foot sprain)
OUT — LeBron James (Left ankle sprain)
OUT — Kendrick Nunn (Right knee bone bruise)
OUT — Mason Jones (G League – Two-Way)
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Time: 8:00 p.m. MST
Location: Vivint Arena / Salt Lake City, UT
TV: TNT
Radio: 1280 The Zone
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