Utah Jazz vs Phoenix Suns Prediction: The Jazz losing their way a bit

The NBA Regular Season is on and we have been witnessing a bunch of impressive battles already. This is a great start to the season but there is a long way to go so we will see a lot of variations in the field as we go on. As we walk deeper into the season, the prediction scenario will only get trickier. In this game, the Utah Jazz is going to take on the Phoenix Suns.

The Jazz comes into this game after losing 111:118 despite 27 points by Kelly Olynyk. The Jazz is on a three-game losing streak and overall, they have lost six and won 10 games. The Jazz began the season with 10 wins and three wins, but it seems like the wheels are falling a bit. Their last loss was especially embarrassing against the Knicks as it is an average team that was playing a back-to-back situation. One common theme in the last three games has been that Lauri Markkanen’s average scoring has been down.

Even the much-heralded and deep Guard rotation has not fired lately which was the team’s strength earlier. Is this window an exception or will that change? The Jazz has formed a solid unit that is dependent upon players that have varied skill sets complementing each other well. But one huge problem has been their defensive consistency while they sometimes don’t know who to go to in crunch situations. If the Jazz resume their earlier ways, then they are likely to stick around with the current core after hitting the reset button this offseason.

The Suns come into this game after a riveting 130:119 win against the Golden State Warriors as Cameron Payne scored an impressive 29 points. Still, the Suns haven’t played that well recently and have lost four of their seven games. One huge reason for that has been the absence of sharpshooting win Cam Johnson and their leading playmaker and leader Chris Paul. Their offense hasn’t looked the same since the departure of Chris Paul which has affected their defensive rhythm.

Devin Booker has led the scoring effort and has also upped his playmaking in absence of Chris Paul. Cameron Payne has also lifted his game to make up for the loss of Chris Paul. Mikal Bridges has been impressive as a two-way wing but his offense can be a bit inconsistent. In the middle, Deandre Ayton has been getting it done as the back-to-the-basket Center. However, the Suns need more from Ayton who has been a bit underwhelming considering he was expected to take a leap this season.

• Jazz: OUT: Rudy Gay;
• Suns: OUT: Cam Johnson, Landry Shamet. QUESTIONABLE: Chris Paul, Josh Okogie

• Expected Leading Scorers: Devin Booker(26+ Points), Lauri Markkanen(20+ Points), Jordan Clarkson(18+ Points);
• Expected Leading Rebounders: Lauri Markkanen(9-13 Rebounds), Deandre Ayton(8-11 Rebounds);
• Expected Leading Playmakers: Devin Booker(7-10 Assists), Mike Conley(8-11 Assists).

The Suns have been struggling, not like the Jazz, but still struggling. Both the teams started the season on a hot note but have cooled down, for the Suns it has been the injuries, while the Jazz has come down from the sky-high form when it seemed like every shot they took is going to dip in. The Suns have been doing a decent job of developing offensive sets but without Paul, their cohesion has been off as he knows how to direct players well.

The Jazz needs to find better operations too, they haven’t been as clinical as they were in the early parts of the season when both their isolation plays and their passing system was clicking. We are still in the early parts of the season so a lot can develop later. I believe in this game, the Jazz will put on a much better effort and this can be a close game. I believe the total points range here will be 228-238.