Utah Jazz vs Orlando Magic: Game Thread

This is the last game of the second longest home stand of the season for the Utah Jazz (25-16), and they'll be taking on the Orlando Magic (17-24). Can the Jazz sweep the stand and improve to 26 wins? (Or more honestly, can they improve to 16 and 4 when missing two or fewer rotation players this year?) We'll find out. It should be an interesting game between Quin Snyder (playing with a full deck) and Frank Vogel (trying to find something that works).

Game Preview | Overtone | Five Things to Watch | Orlando Pinstriped Post

Team Breakdown:

The Jazz are rolling right now, having won two straight, three of four, and seven of their last ten. They are still slow, but that helps them out because they seem to be more focused than most teams they play, who somehow get lost late in the shot clock. The Jazz are #1 in OPP. PPG and #1 in DRTG. Teams just don't score frequently or easily against Utah. And that's by design. Utah is "okay" on offense right now, and honestly if it wasn't for Hot Rod Hood last night, the Pistons could have made it a much tougher game.

Orlando avoided losing five in a row with a victory last night against the Trail Blazers (in Portland!), so thank you. Tonight will be their fourth game on this six game road trip. It's their second game of a back to back set, their third game in four nights, and if this was the Jazz we were talking about, we'd call this a potential schedule loss. Orlando isn't without their own charm, though. They don't foul on defense and rarely send the other team to the line. They also really take care of their defensive glass (14th in the NBA), which is a good start. Offensively they don't turn the ball over that much. So that's another feather in their cap. They aren't very good from the outside, though, and have trouble scoring the ball.

I like some of their players, and their head coach is excellent.So this shouldn't be an assumed win at all. They are big and can go big for big against Utah. Having guys like Jeff Green, Jodie Meeks, D.J. Augustin, Mario Hezonja, and Bismack Biyombo on your bench means that they aren't thin either. Size against size. Depth against depth? Let's see it.

Fan Map:

After all these years I still can't get over their popularity.

Assumed Starters:

• PG: Elfrid Payton vs. George Hill
  
• SG: Evan Fournier vs. Rodney Hood
  
• SF: Aaron Gordon vs. Gordon Hayward
  
• PF: Serge Ibaka vs. Derrick Favors
  
• C: Nikola Vucevic vs. Rudy Gobert

Injuries / Absences:

• PG:
• SG: Evan Fournier (ORL, Questionable)
  
• SF:
• PF: Serge Ibaka (ORL, Questionable), Joel Bolomboy (UTA, NBADL)
  
• C:

These are two super healthy teams. Hopefully our health will prevail.

GO JAZZ GO!