Jazz vs Pacers preview: start time, channel, injury report

The Utah Jazz face off against the Indiana Pacers Wednesday night in an attempt to snap out of a three game skid. Utah has looked horrendous on the defensive end so far this season, and it won’t be easy to stop a high octane Pacers team lead by Tyrese Haliburton and Buddy Hield. Although only going 2-2 so far in November, Indiana has averaged just over 125 points and tied a franchise record with 152 points in win against the San Antonio Spurs on Monday night.

Indiana comes into this game with a 4-3 record and sit in 6th place in the Eastern conference. Despite mixed results so far this season, they look like a team that is starting to gain confidence and gel together after their blowout win in the previous game. Indiana coach Rick Carlisle celebrated his 900th win after the game. This is a team that has been together for almost two seasons now and seems to be developing some good chemistry as well as buying into what their coach is trying to instill. “The ball was just moving well………we were putting good energy in the ball”, Haliburton said after the game.

Utah comes into this game with a defense that has seemingly taken a step back so far in this young season compared to last year’s surprise team. But what has been really troubling this year and particularly in the last three games is the turnovers. Utah had a whopping 22 turnovers in their last game against the Chicago Bulls, including 11 in the second quarter. Part of the problem may be attributed to trying to mesh new players but everybody has to deal with that from year to year. “Nobody’s gonna feel sorry for us.........so just look at the film, get better, and we really need to grind one[a win] out……” forward Lauri Markkanen said after Monday’s loss.

This game should be an interesting litmus test for the Jazz. The fact that Indiana is capable of putting up big numbers will hopefully be enough for the Jazz to focus on defense and taking care of the ball. With Lauri Markkanen leading the way, Utah is capable of scoring with the best of them but the team is going to need a strong defensive effort if they are going to avoid getting blown out for three games in a row. GO JAZZ!!

Game info

When: Wednesday, November 8th, 2023 5:00 PM MT

Where: United Center, Chicago, IL

TV/Streaming: Jazz+, KJZZ

Radio: KSL 97.5 FM

It’s looking like there’s a small chance we don’t see Walker Kessler for the Jazz.