Jazz vs Suns Preview: Utah faces a shorthanded Phoenix roster

The Utah Jazz (1-1) are taking on the Phoenix Suns (1-1) in their first back-to-back of the season. After beating the Los Angeles Clippers in a close-knit game, the Jazz will look to take advantage of a shorthanded Suns roster tonight.

On Friday night, the Jazz entered a nail-bitter against the Clippers, edging out a victory off the back of Lauri Markkanen’s 35 points and 12 rebounds. After struggling to feature last season’s All-Star in the offense against the Sacramento Kings, the Jazz moved the ball more effectively against the Clippers, with Talen Horton-Tucker dishing out eight assists and Keyonte George showing flashes of his ability to set the table in an offense. New addition John Collins found avenues to contribute without the ball, scoring 13 points and nagging 12 rebounds.

Tonight against the Suns, the Jazz will likely face a Phoenix team missing two of their top-three players. Bradley Beal (back) is listed as out, while Devin Booker (foot) is listed as doubtful. The revamped Suns roster has split their first two games of the season, but the new additions of Jusuf Nurkic, Eric Gordon, and Yuta Watanebe have played well thus far. In particular, Nurkic has provided the Suns with much needed playmaking from the center position, currently leading the team in assists.

In what seems like a theme for the foreseeable future, look for the Jazz to continue to tinker with their rotations. Notably, Utah chose to close last night’s game against the Clippers with Kris Dunn and Jordan Clarkson, prior to Dunn fouling out. Interestingly, the Jazz also elected to finish the game with Kelly Olynyk in place of Walker Kessler due to spacing concerns.

The Jazz will enter the night with a clean injury report.

Game Info

When: 8:00 PM MT - 10/28/23

Where: Footprint Center, Phoenix, AZ

TV: KJZZ, Jazz+