Game 54: Utah Jazz (27-26, Road: 8-19) @ Portland Trail Blazers (26-26, Home: 18-9)
The Jazz start tonight out as the 9th best team in the Western Conference. If the playoffs started tonight we'd be out. That's the bad news. The worse news (if you support our team's playoff aspirations) is that we're playing a road game against a team that's awesome in their own gym . . . and only 2 games behind us. Portland is at #11. It is not out of the realm of possibility that we could miss the playoffs, and even finish the season lower than 9th place. If you are going for the playoffs it would be a failure on our part to miss it, and a double failure to not even be the closest team to not make it.
Of course, if you don't want the Jazz to make the playoffs, any win or loss is just gravy at this point.
This is going to be a super quick preview for both teams.
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What's going on with the Trail Blazers?
I have no clue, I think they'd want to tank, but they are not. They blew up their team and even got rid of Mehmet Okur . . . They've beaten up bad teams and lost to good teams. They are a more logical Jazz team in that way. (We beat some good teams and lose to horrible teams) LaMarcus Aldridge needs a twitter handle of AllThatLaMarcus.
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What's going on with the Jazz?
Utah has lost 4 of their last 5, and need to win 9 of our last 13 games in order to make the playoffs. In that case, this is clearly one of the 9 games we need to win. Period.
Jazz vs Trail Blazers coverage