Utah Jazz vs Toronto Raptors Game Thread

The Utah Jazz face a daunting task tonight, taking care of all those wildlings north of the wall playing a determined Toronto Raptors club on the 2nd night of a back-to-back. If there's anything we have learned from our own experiences, teams CAN win on the road when tired. So to expect the Raptors to fold would be silly. On paper they are a better team, have star players who get calls and get to the line, and actually have people who regular make threes on purpose. Startlingly, they are also beefy enough to not need to go small, and really do a number on the glass every night. Also, they have the total population of Canada pulling for them.

Canada's team.

As a Canadian it was surprising to see that the Jazz hold over Gaspe, Quebec was finally gone. (That part of Canada that's routinely Jazz supporting.) Also, I remember watching Jazz games when they would play the Raptors. Few non-local media crews would ever get hyped to play Utah. But for whatever reason, Canadian TV has always given the Jazz lots of props over the 90s and 2000s. The players would get up for playing against the Jazz. And even the TV crew would want to do their best. I'd say at times Canadian media knew more about the Jazz than they normally did about the Grizzlies or even Raptors.

That's something lots of people never knew, but back when American publications were going crazy about Iverson and Melo in Denver, Canadian TV made sure their audience knew that Utah was a better team.

Anyway, tonight the tables may be a bit turned. The Jazz went 0-2 against Toronto last season -- the first time that's ever happened (without looking it up, so don't look it up!). They are tough, they are big, and they get to the line. They also played last night.

Starters:

• PG: Kyle Lowry vs Raul Neto
• SG: DeMar DeRozan vs. Rodney Hood (questionable)
  
• SF: DeMarre Carroll vs. Gordon Hayward
• PF: Luis Scola vs. Derrick Favors
• C: Jonas Valanciunas vs. Rudy Gobert

Key Bench:

• Cory Joseph vs. Trey Burke
• Terrence Ross (out) vs. Alec Burks
• James Johnson vs. Joe Ingles
• Patrick Patterson vs. Trevor Booker
• Bismack Biyombo vs. Jeff Withey

GO JAZZ GO!