It has been a confusing, yet entertaining first month of Jazz basketball to say the least. They had endured some of the worst blowouts ever to grace this franchise; however, the ‘WIN WIN WIN!’ voice in Ryan Smith’s head has also given way to some of the best competitive basketball the team has faced since moving on from Rudy and Donovan. Tonight is one of those bipolar games where you really don’t know which Jazz team will step on the floor tonight. The Jazz (5-8) visit the Lakers (10-4), where all spectacles lie on the return of ‘The Little Emperor’ (yes, that is a real LeBron nickname listed on Basketball Reference). Winning isn’t a priority for this group, but hey, I’ll take an upset win in Los Angeles any day of the week.
It’ll be no easy gimme for the hopeful Jazz. The Lakers have won 6 out of their last 7 matchups in Crypto.com Arena/Staples Center dating back to 2022. The infamous Jalen Hood-Schifino Jazz trade has worked out nicely for the Lakers — they’re 10-4 thus far despite injuries to their top duo. They rank second in the league at charity-stripe shots, not amazing news for the Jazz (or Ace Bailey), who rank in the bottom 10 in personal fouls.
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Likely, the Jazz will turn once again to their newly established 7-foot Klay Thompson, who’s found his bread and butter by scoring off the catch and shoot and cutting to the rim. He’s top 5 in league scoring, sitting at 30.6 points per game, shooting 41.2% on 8.8(!!) catch-and-shoot 3-point attempts on the season. It’s a good change of pace from the previous seasons before, definitely attributed to the improved playmaking around him. Speaking of playmaking, it’s why Keyonte George has gathered some talk for the NBA’s Most Improved Player Award. He’s become much more polished with his vision and efficiency as a passer, rising to +1.4 assists per game from the season before. His assists have raised significantly, but so have his turnovers, so we’ll have to see if he can clean that up a bit. He has the ball in his hands far more than usual and is still learning when to pass and when not to. Turnovers have been a problem for this team as a whole. Against an average defensive team like the Lakers (15th in defensive rating), Keyonte has a chance to contribute for another huge night. With that, I prescribe you a mandatory Keyonte George ’Where’s Waldo?‘ graph (Hint: he has fewer turnovers than some of your favorite superstars):
Highlighted by the return of L-Train (another official LeBron James nickname listed on Basketball Reference), they sit fourth in the Western Conference. The team has performed quite well under the reign of Luka Dončić. He’s been nothing but incredible thus far. In Sunday’s 119-95 victory in Cream City, the former NBA scoring champion scored 41 points against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks. He averages 34.4 points while shooting 46.9% from the field. He leads the Lakers’ attack that is fifth in the league with a 57.1 eFG%, which could prove to be detrimental to a Jazz defense that ranks 24th in the NBA with a 118.1 defensive rating.
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Injury Report
Jazz:
QUESTIONABLE – Kyle Filipowski (right wrist sprain), Kyle Anderson (right low back soreness), Taylor Hendricks (sore right hamstring)
OUT – Georges Niang (left foot, fourth metatarsal stress reaction), Walker Kessler (left shoulder surgery)
Lakers:
QUESTIONABLE – N/A
OUT – N/A
How to watch:
Who: Utah Jazz at Los Angeles Lakers
When: November 18th, 8:30PM Mountain Time
Where: Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles
Channel: Jazz+, KJZZ
Radio: 97.5/1280 The Zone
