The Utah Jazz are on a bit of a roll with four wins in their last five outings. They got back to .500 for the first time since Dec. 30 (now 24-24) and tonight have the chance to own a winning record for the first time since Dec. 28.

On the other end of the spectrum are the Brooklyn Nets who have lost four straight games and are on the third part of a five-game (mostly) western conference road trip. And to top it all off the Nets are also on the second leg of a back-to-back, having lost the first leg 117-112 to the Phoenix Suns.

Oh, and Kevin Durant is still out.

So yeah, this is about as clear-cut of a scheduled loss as they come. Everything has lined up for the Jazz to win this one but obviously the games still need to be played.

There’s still a danger in losing this game (I mean, it is the NBA after all) especially considering Kyrie Irving is expected to play. Irving isn’t shooting as well from three this season (35.3 percent compared to a 39 percent career rate and 41.8 percent last year) and is at *just* 25.8 points per game (27.4 average last year) but, well, it’s still Kyrie Irving.

Tonight will be the first time the Jazz have faced Ben Simmons since March of 2021, a full 688 day span. He’s not the same player that once put 42 on the Jazz (that was in February of 2021) but it’s worth noting his return to the Beehive State.

Game Info

When: 7:00 PM MT

Where: Vivint Arena | Salt Lake City, UT

TV: ATTSN-RM

Radio: 97.5/1280 The Zone

Injuries

Utah Jazz

• Kelly Olynyk (Left Ankle Sprain) - OUT

Brooklyn Nets

• Kevin Durant (Right Knee MCL Sprain) - OUT