Portland Trail Blazers vs Utah Jazz Pregame Analysis

by Alma Bean Feature Image by Trent Nelson of the Salt Lake Tribune The Utah Jazz (3-7) takes on the Portland Trail Blazers (3-6) for their second in-season tournament game of the season. What to Look For Both of these teams are near the bottom of the barrel of the Western Conference. With just .5…

Alma Bean

November 14, 2023

2–3 minutes

Anfernee Simons, Brice Sensabaugh, Deandre Ayton, Jazz, Jerami Grant, John Collins, Johnny Juzang, Josh Christopher, Keyonte George, KJZZ, Lauri Markkanen, Malcolm Brogdan, Micah Potter, NBA, Portland Trail Blazers, Robert Williams III, Scoot Henderson, Shaedon Sharpe, Skylar Mays, Taylor Hendricks, Walker Kessler

by Alma Bean

Feature Image by Trent Nelson of the Salt Lake Tribune

The Utah Jazz (3-7) takes on the Portland Trail Blazers (3-6) for their second in-season tournament game of the season.

What to Look For

Both of these teams are near the bottom of the barrel of the Western Conference. With just .5 a game between the two teams in the standings, this game has a little more emphasis as each team’s second In-Season Tournament game. Utah is currently in first place in Group A, which Utah holds due to a point differential tiebreaker over Portland (+6.0 to +2.0). Without a consistent paint presence for Utah, Portland will look to feed Deandre Ayton to command the post against the likes of Lauri Markkanen and John Collins. Along with the In-Season Tournament seeding at stake, Portland is looking to get back on track and avoid a four-game losing streak while preventing Utah from getting their first winning streak of the season.

Portland having an abundance of injuries to their core unit early in the season, don’t be surprised if you see guys like Jerami Grant and Shaedon Sharpe look to step up for their team. With Grant and Sharpe averaging a combined 42.6/9.9/4.9 while shooting 47.8 percent within the perimeter, the paint could seem wide open for this duo.

Key of the Game

Assist-to-Turnover Ratio. Both teams are prone to turning the ball over at an alarming rate. Portland is 25th in the league in turnovers (15.4) while Utah is currently dead last (17.9). What makes a large difference with this stat is the amount of assists each team is able to create. Utah is fifth in the league in team assists (27.3) while Portland is last in the league (21.0). Even with a dramatic jump for assists and turnovers, both Portland and Utah are bottom-five in the league for the lowest AST/TO ratios. Utah has seen a little bit of life to increase this stat since putting Keyonte George into the starting lineup averaging a 6.7 AST/TO as a starter, 2.7 on the season. Portland will need to lean into Skylar Mays to run point if they want to give Portland a chance in this matchup as he’s averaging a 4.4 AST/TO ratio this season and 12.0 AST/TO as a starter.

Injury Report

Portland – Malcolm Brogdan (hamstring) Out, Scoot Henderson (ankle) Out, Anfernee Simons (thumb) Out, Robert Williams III (knee) Out

Utah – Josh Christopher (G League) Out, John Collins (ankle) Probable, Taylor Hendricks (G League) Out, Johnny Juzang (G League) Out, Walker Kessler (elbow) Out, Micah Potter (G League) Out, Brice Sensabaugh (G League) Out

Where to Watch

Tip-off will be at 7:00 p.m. MST on KJZZ and Jazz+.

Author

Written by

Alma Bean

I am currently a student at the University of Utah working toward my second bachelor’s degree, this time in communication with an emphasis in journalism. I currently have a bachelor’s degree in music from Jacksonville University in Jacksonville, Florida. As I pursue a degree in communication, I dream to bring this emphasis of journalism to the world of sports. When I’m not writing, I allow my inner basketball fan to come out as I watch previous games and highlights across the NBA to become a walking, talking sports almanac.

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