Jazz look to dispel the Magic in SLC

The Orlando Magic visit the Utah Jazz on Friday night. Both of these teams are coming off impressive wins earlier in the week and both teams will look to keep the momentum going heading into the holiday weekend. Not that there is any rest for the Jazz as they begin the first game of three in four nights. The road weary Magic will be playing their fourth straight road game as well. Even though both of these teams aren’t considered playoff contenders at this point in the season, they both play and exciting brand of basketball and it will be fun to watch them face up against each other.

The Magic come into this game at 16-26 and 13th in the Eastern conference. This is a team that was not expected to contend this year, however, they have a really good foundation of young players and they have gotten better as the season has progressed. Standout rookie and the most recent #1 pick in the NBA draft, Paolo Banchero, is averaging 21.2 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. His game has translated well to the NBA so far. It won’t be easy for Orlando to get the win in Utah but if their defense can slow down Utah’s playmakers(namely Jordan Clarkson and Lauri Markkanen) then they will put themselves in a great position to steal one in Salt Lake City.

Utah comes into this game in a little bit more relaxed state, having gotten past the Donovan Mitchell game and being able to pick up the win. Utah should play just a little bit more freely, which will help their offense kick into high gear. Utah shouldn’t have a problem scoring against Orlando but if the offense gets stagnant and the Magic are able to hang around in this game then it could get interesting. The Jazz have to come in and set the tone early at home and make sure that they stay focused for the entire game. It goes without saying that the Jazz need to bring the energy to avoid a letdown in a game that they should win.

It always brightens up those short winter days to partake of some NBA[Utah Jazz] basketball, especially when we it’s Friday and we get to see the Jazz play three times over this weekend. Let’s hope that the team will start us off on a positive note and make the Magic vanish. GO JAZZ!!

Game Info

When: 7:00 PM MT

Where: Vivint Arena | Salt Lake City, UT

TV: ATTSN-RM

Radio: 97.5 FM/1280 AM The Zone