After coming through with their most impressive win of the young season last night in Denver, the Los Angeles Lakers will look to complete the NBA’s most difficult back-to-back 2-0 as they are in Salt Lake City to take on a Utah Jazz squad with high expectations in the middle of their first rough patch of the season.
The Jazz are finally back home for a few games after ending their five-game road trip 1-4. The bad trip has put into focus some issues the Jazz have had to begin the season, such as the struggles of former Memphis Grizzlies guard Mike Conley and a slight drop-off in production from starting forward Joe Ingles.
Donovan Mitchell can still take over a game, but often he and Bojan Bogdanovic are asked to do everything for the Jazz offensively. On the flip side, their defense has taken a significant step back from the elite level they’ve been on for the last few seasons. According to Basketball-Reference, the Jazz are No. 10 in defensive rating after finishing in the top-three in the league in defensive rating in each of the previous three seasons.
However, the Jazz entered this season seen by many as a dark horse title contender. While they are in the midst of a bad stretch, the opportunity to come home and lick their wounds before hosting the best team in the West on a second of a back-to-back is the exact type of opportunity that can bring back belief in their season.
