— Friday, February 04th Brooklyn Nets @ Utah Jazz
The Brooklyn Nets try to snap a six-game losing streak when they take on the host Utah Jazz in a clash of title-contending squads on Friday night. The opening tip for this contest is scheduled for 9 pm ET at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah.
The Nets have lost four in a row on the road, including their last three contests, capped by a 112-101 loss to the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday. Brooklyn is 29-22 and in second place in the Atlantic Division, two games behind the first-place Philadelphia 76ers and 1.5 games ahead of the third-place Toronto Raptors.
Utah snapped a five-game losing streak with a home win over the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday. The Jazz are 31-21 and atop the Northwest Division standings, leading the second-place Nuggets by 2.5 games and the third-place Minnesota Timberwolves by four games.
The Jazz are 4.5-point favorites in this one, with the over/under set at 230 points.
Who’s In?
The Nets have been juggling their Big Three lineup, with Kevin Durant out with a sprained MCL, meaning Brooklyn has been without his 29.2 points per game. Kyrie Irving is only allowed to play on the road due to COVID-19 restrictions in New York, while James Harden returned to the lineup two games ago after missing a week with a right hand strain.
Harden has been solid all season when he has played, averaging 22.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 10.2 assists per game, ranking second in the league in the last category. But he’s coming off a four-point performance in the loss to Sacramento, as he shot 2-for-11 from the field, including 0-for-5 from the three-point line. He did have 12 assists in the game, but he also turned it over six times.
Irving has played 10 games this season and hasn’t shown a lot of rust from his time off due to the Nets not playing him at all until recently. Irving is averaging 23.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game, though he also struggled against the Kings with just 14 points and four turnovers.
Getting Back
Utah has struggled with its own injury issues, with Donovan Mitchell expected to return in this one after sitting out since Jan. 17 with a concussion. Mitchell is leading the Jazz with 25.5 points per game this season while also dishing out 5.2 assists. He’ll be a big boost to a depleted lineup.
All-Star center Rudy Gobert will not make his return against the Nets, as he’s been ruled out with his current calf injury. Gobert hasn’t played since Jan. 23 but leads the NBA in rebounds per game with 15.1 and is tied for second in blocked shots per game with 2.3.
The Jazz also learned recently that forward Joe Ingles will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL. That means players like forward Bogdan Bogdanovic (17.8 points, 4.2 rebounds) and guard Mike Conley (14.3 points, 5.3 assists) will need to up their production in this one.
Jazz Win Shootout
Utah is usually a solid defensive team, but that’s with Gobert in the middle. Still, Brooklyn is really struggling right now, and even without the All-Star center in the paint, Utah should have enough to get the win in this one behind Mitchell’s return.
Free Pick: Utah Jazz -4.5
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