Preview - Los Angeles Lakers @ Utah Jazz - Game 3

Turnarounds are usually gradual things.  Rarely is there moment that suddenly causes a reversal of course and fortune.  It can happen though.  The Celtics went from having their hopes dashed on the rocks when they lost the overall number 1 pick in the draft a couple of years ago.  In fact, they received a stomach punch, to steal from Bill Simmons, as they dropped to fifth.  That meant they would miss out on Oden & Durant.

But shortly after that, they traded for Kevin Garnett and a season that seemed like it was lost turned into a title.

Since riding a 12-game winning streak, the Jazz have had a slow creep to the bottom.  They hit rock bottom losing to the Timberwolves at home.  They then somehow found a way to break through rock bottom and lose against at home to the D-League Jam.

Through no one's fault but their own, they opened up the playoffs as the eighth seed against the Lakers.

Tonight, for all intents and purposes is the last time for the Jazz to turn things around.   Though they've had two losses at LA already, you can see a gradual rise in the Jazz.  They've fought hard and played harder in the first two games of this series than they did the last two weeks of the season, yet it hasn't been enough.

Getting down early and coming back late in the game has taken its toll.  Credit the Lakers.  They've done what they needed to put away the Jazz and have made the big plays late to keep their lead.

But the Jazz are on the uprise having played the Lakers tough in game two and putting a scare into them.  It's been the kind of gradual turnaround that has given Jazz fans some hope.  While it doesn't equate to adding a KG to your team, returning to the ESA may be the catalyst needed to spark                this small upswing into a full-fledged reversal.

I'll be in attendance tonight so I won't be in the game thread.  But I will be Tweeting at http://twitter.com/slcdunk or if you scroll up on the right side of the game thread, there's an embedded widget that will show my tweets.

Game Thread at 8:00