by Alma Bean
Feature Image by Marielle Scott of Deseret News
The Utah Jazz (24-26) takes on the Milwaukee Bucks (33-16) in their rare Sunday home game.
What to Look For
Coming into this game, Utah’s homecoming on Thursday was spoiled by a three-point loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, extending their losing streak to three-straight games. Even with the loss there are some key takeaways from Thursday’s loss. Lauri Markkanen finished the night with 28/10/3 while shooting 10/15 (66.7%) from the field with 14 of those points coming in the fourth quarter. Another bright spot for Utah was the offensive guard play between Jordan Clarkson and Collin Sexton. The two guards had a combined 38/3/16 with a combined AST/TO ratio of 4.0 (16 assists and 4 turnovers). Clarkson’s shot selection was less than stellar, shooting 5/15 (33.3%) from the field and 1/7 (14.3%) from the perimeter, but his court vision excelled when his shot wasn’t falling.
For Milwaukee, they are coming into this game looking to create a winning-streak during their western road-trip. In their previous matchup this season, Utah came away with the 132-116 win on the road. Even with the triple-double from Giannis Antetokounmpo, not having Damian Lillard proved to be the missing piece. With the return of Lillard, Utah will have their hands full as Milwaukee is second in the league in points per game (124.0) and third in field goal percentage (49.8%) when he’s in their lineup.
Key of the Game
Take the easy basket. Milwaukee allows 119.9 PPG while their opponent shoots 47.4 percent from the field. Even with the force of Antetokounmpo in the paint, it looks as if attacking the paint might be Utah’s best option. Allowing guys like John Collins and Walker Kessler to cut along the baseline along with Markkanen’s post fadeaway shot should be the focal point of Utah’s offense. The only way that this plan could be foiled is if Bobby Portis decides to have his occasional standout game against Utah. Since Portis has been in Milwaukee, Portis has averaged 10.6/7.0/0.9 with shooting splits of 41.0/20.0/83.3. These numbers may not be eye popping, but Portis tends to have a good game against Utah every other matchup. Since he has had two-straight sub-10 point games in-a-row, it wouldn’t be surprising for Portis to exceed expectations.
Injury Report
Milwaukee – Andre Jackson Jr. (wrist) Questionable, Brook Lopez (personal) Questionable, Khris Middleton (leg) Questionable
Utah – Taylor Hendricks (G League) Out, Johnny Juzang (G League) Out, Micah Potter (G League) Out, Jason Preston (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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