Lakers Record- 14-41 Jazz Record- 21-34 Last 10 Laker games- 1-9 Last 10 Jazz games- 5-5 Lakers probable starters- Clarkson/Ellington/Kelly/Black/Sacre Jazz probable starters- Exum/Hayward/Ingles/Favors/Gobert Outlook- There were some optimistic whispers coming from some of the Lakers media employees about this being a "winnable" game, but I disagree. Not only are the Jazz a more talented team, but they've been really clicking of late. Gordon Hayward has continued his growth and is slowly becoming a franchise level talent. This season he's averaging nearly 20/5/4 with 1.4 steals as well. Derrick Favors has been strong as well averaging 16/8 with 1.5 blocks and 1.5 assists as well. The real story out in Utah though is the development of Rudy Gobert. He was heralded as a defensive minded project that's at least a few years away, but he's really bloomed this year. In his last seven games he's averaging 5.5/10.5 with 4 blocks! Meanwhile the Lakers are coming off of one of their rare wins against an old rival in the C Bags. Jeremy Lin was incredible down the stretch and really couldn't be stopped. In 30 minutes off the bench Lin was 10/15 for 26 points and was instrumental to their victory. Ed Davis continues to be a bright spot for the team and has averaged 8.1/7.5 with 1.2 blocks in just 24 minutes this season. Carlos Boozer has been a fantastic source of offense for the team all year with 12.5 points in only 25 minutes a game. The biggest story about a player so far this season has been the development of rookie Jordan Clarkson. Ever since being inserted into the starting lineup Clarkson has averaged 12.9/3.8/3.1 and has held his own against some of the NBA's elite point guards including John Wall, Tony Parker, Kyrie Irving, Derrick Rose, and Damian Lillard. Prediction- Jazz 105- Lakers 88 - The Jazz have been playing very well lately with Burk coming off the bench in a scoring role and Gobert protecting the rim. Since Jan. 30, they've beaten the Warriors, the Pelicans, the Blazers, and the Spurs. They've also lost by ten points or less to Dallas, Portland, and Memphis. Meanwhile the Lakers needed an Overtime victory just to beat the C Bags without Jared Sullinger. It's difficult to predict the Lakers winning any games, but one in an opposing arena against a team that's playing well is not a good prediction to make.
Thanks! I learned from the best! The only difference is I'm using absolutely nothing in terms of statistical analysis for my prediction... just a gut call on how the game will go...
