Utah Jazz vs Portland Trail Blazers Game Thread

It's the season home opener for the Utah Jazz (2-1) tonight. They square off against the Portland Trail Blazers (2-2). The two Northwest division rivals are coming from opposite sides of the country, really, to face off. Utah has only played East teams, and Portland only teams in the West. The Jazz hold the historical regular season series (95-78 overall, 67-19 in Utah), and will have the crowd behind them tonight for sure. Both teams are mostly healthy. Portland is missing starting shooting guard Gerald Henderson, and back up big man Cliff Alexander. The Jazz will be without starting point guard Dante Exum, and potential All-Star big Derrick Favors is going to give it a go. However, he is still officially listed as a game time decision. (This info could be out dated by the time this goes up online.)

That doesn't mean you shouldn't watch. Tonight is going to be GREAT! Teams from the same division who hate each other.

• Point Guards: Damian Lillard, Tim Frazier vs. Raul Neto, Trey Burke
• Wings: C.J. McCollum and Al-Farouq Aminu vs. Gordon Hayward and Rodney Hood
• Bigmen: Meyers Leonard and Mason Plumlee vs. Derrick Favors (?) and Rudy Gobert

It's also a contrast of two styles. Portland has stretch/face-up bigs, and Utah does not. Utah has a lot of bench scoring in Trey Burke and Alec Burks, and Portland doesn't have any firepower off the bench right now. One team plays fast. The other plays slowly.

More importantly, one team is on the road, and one is at home. And that home is here, in Salt Lake City. #WeAreUtah #44United #VivintSmartHomeArenaCouldHaveBeenALittleLonger #Hashtag!

GO JAZZ GO!