Same time, same place—the Houston Rockets remain in Utah and are set to tussle with the Utah Jazz at the Delta Center. The Jazz were thoroughly outmatched last game, as every Jazz player finished the game with a negative +/- except Ace Bailey, who was +2. Kevin Durant scored 25 points on 14 shots in his return from injury, and Alperen Sengun added 27 on 15 shots.
If the Jazz are to improve on their most recent performance, they will need more from Brice Sensabaugh and Isaiah Collier, who combined for 12 points on 16 shots, not to mention Keyonte George. These types of performances may open up more playing time for rookie guard Walter Clayton Jr, who has been playing fewer minutes of late than when the season began. It’s never been an easy task to play against a Kevin Durant-led team, which should make the pro-tank faction happy. This is one of those games to watch as an assessment of how Ace Bailey (assuming he’s not injured, which he may be) and the other Jazz prospects are developing. Let’s face it: that’s how most of the games have been since the Don/Rudy trades. They will continue to be that way, certainly for the rest of this season.
Where: (The) Delta Center