by Alma Bean
Feature Image by Stacy Bengs of the Associated Press
The Utah Jazz (2-5) continues their road trip as they take on the Chicago Bulls (2-5) looking to avoid a three-game losing streak.
What to Look For
This matchup in year’s past would be seen as a marque game. In the 2023-24 season, this is a fight between arguably two of the worst rated teams in the league. When it comes to statistical differential, both Chicago and Utah are bottom-five in the league. The largest, glaring differential for both teams is points per game. On average, Utah is outscored by 7.1 PPG while Chicago is outscored by 8.7 PPG. Though this is still the case, Chicago still has two All-Star caliber players that are averaging over 20 points per game in DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine. With Utah putting focus in their back court, these two might prove to be a problem for Jordan Clarkson and Talen Horton-Tucker.
Key of the Game
Rebounding. Utah currently does not have a single player on their roster that is averaging over ten rebounds a game. Lauri Markkanen is currently leading Utah with 9.3 RPG while Nikola Vucevic is leading Chicago with 11.7 RPG. The difference between the two teams is the drop-off from first and second in their rebounding leaders. Chicago drops from Vucevic with 11.7 RPG to Torrey Craig with 5.1 RPG while Utah goes from Markkanen with 9.3 RPG to John Collins with 8.9 RPG. This game will most likely be decided on which team controls the boards and capitalizes on the opportunities that come from those rebounds.
Injury Report
Chicago – Lonzo Ball (knee) Out, Alex Caruso (elbow) Probable, Ayo Dosunmu (illness) Questionable, Patrick Williams (finger) Probable
Utah – Josh Christopher (G League) Out, Taylor Hendricks (G League) Out, Johnny Juzang (G League) Out, Micah Potter (G League) Out, Brice Sensabaugh (G League) Out
Where to Watch
Tip-off will be at 6:00 p.m. MST on KJZZ and Jazz+.
The Hive Sports 
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