A lot has changed since the Utah Jazz have last played the Indiana Pacers. Both teams lost a superstar, one to free agency and one to a forced trade. One team is struggling mightily and the other is doing pretty okay. Perhaps, if the team that is struggling, didn’t have so many injuries they’d be okay. Perhaps, if they would have traded their superstar like the other team did they would be doing pretty okay also. Who knows? All we know is that the Jazz now sit in the top 10 of the draft with a 17-25 record.

The Indiana Pacers are firmly in the playoffs sitting 6th in the Eastern Conference standings.

Anyways these two teams face-off tonight on this beautiful Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday.

Game Info:

When: Monday January 15th, 7:00pm MDT

Where: Vivint Smart Home Arena, Salt Lake City, Utah

TV: AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain

Radio: 1280 and 97.5 The Zone

Injuries:

Utah Jazz:

Indiana Pacers

What to Watch For:

Tanking versus Playoffs

The Jazz are losing; between injuries, youth, and a hard schedule, the Jazz are having a rough season, especially in their last twenty games. The Jazz have now lost 14 of their last 18 games. That’s losing at a 77.8% clip! After hearing the news of Thabo Sefolosha’s season-ending injury its hard for fans to remain hopeful for the playoffs. The players however are as hopeful as ever (which is exactly what we want to hear!)

Donovan Mitchell on losing:

“We’re one hot streak away from being right back where we were,” Mitchell said. “It’s been tough with the injuries and the schedule. In the same light, we looked at that and we made adjustments. Playing the whole month of the December, we realized where we are as a team and who we are.”

It will be interesting to watch the Jazz tonight and see if they have any fight left in them.

Donovan Mitchell vs Victor Oladipo

Odds and Ends:

The all-time series between the two teams is tied at: 42-42.

Al Jefferson returns! While in Utah he averaged: 18.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game.

The Jazz force the second-highest amount of steals in the NBA at 9.1 spg. (Yay for something positive!)