The Utah Jazz welcome the Indiana Pacers to Vivint Smart Home arena for an MLK day matchup between two teams that are almost a mirror image of each other. The Pacers are currently on a 5 game winning streak with marquee wins against the Denver Nuggets and the Philadelphia 76ers. Much like the Jazz, the Pacers are a dark horse contender to at least reach the Eastern Conference finals this year but they consistently get looked past when people talk about the top tier teams in the East. Coming in after a hard fought win in Denver, the Pacers should be a tough challenge for the Jazz today even though they are on the second night of a back to back.

Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images

The Jazz come in at 16-2 in their last 18 games, however, they have not beat a lot of teams of the same caliber as the Pacers during this stretch. That’s not to say the Jazz haven’t been playing well, but today will be interesting because the Pacers seems to have the Jazz’s number the last couple of seasons. It is imperative that the Jazz start fast and don’t have any let downs against Indiana if they want to snag the win today.

Game Info

When: Monday, Jan. 20, 2020 • 7:00 PM MT

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

TV: AT&T Sports Net Rocky Mountain (Hopefully)

Radio: 97.5 FM | 1280 AM The Zone

What to watch for:

Jeffrey Swinger-USA TODAY Sports

Mike Conley Getting More Comfortable

Mike Conley’s first game back gave reason for Jazz fans to be optimistic. He didn’t fill up the stat sheet but he also didn’t look terrible after missing over a month of game action. That game was of course against the Sacramento Kings who aren’t known being the best defensive team in the league. It’s not like Mike is expected to get a triple double tonight, but he should be a little bit more comfortable after getting the first game back jitters out of the way. Jazz fans will be watching intently to see if there is reason to continue to be optimistic about his return. It makes for a really intriguing return and hopefully fun game.

Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

Bogey Welcomes His Old Team To His New Home

Bojan Bogdonavic has been on a quiet tear during the last 10 games. He is averaging 22.6 points per game on 48.91% shooting, nice way to break out of the mini shooting slump that he was in. He played well the first time these two teams matched up but Utah couldn’t withstand Indiana’s balanced attack. Look for Bogey to continue to shoot the ball well and try to steal the show and the game from the Pacers. I know there is probably not a lot of “revenge” on his mind but it is always fun to see players show a little bit of swag against their former team.

Mandatory Highlight

Game Thread Ground Rules

Welcome to the SLC Dunk Game Thread.

Dunkers know how this thing works, but for you lurkers ready to make the jump to Dunker, we have a few guidelines. Remember to follow our community guidelines (no swearing, trolling, excessive use of Jerry Sloan’s name in vain, no personal attacks, no debates about Utah liquor laws, etc.). Remember to have fun. Anyone who dare blasphemes that Tim Duncan was a Power Forward (this means you, Pounding the Rock), Ben Simmons can hit threes, Gordon Haywardshould not be booed, Donovan Mitchell is Monta Ellis 2.0, men should never cry, or John Stockton is not the best point guard of all-time will receive an automatic ban. Just kidding. But seriously.

That means you.

Yes, you.

Cakeman.