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Brooklyn Nets vs. Utah Jazz preview: Race to the bottom continues

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Utah Jazz v Brooklyn Nets
Photo by David L. Nemec/NBAE via Getty Images

In the latest game with lottery implications, the Utah Jazz, currently with the third worst record in the NBA, battles the Brooklyn Nets, now ninth.

Sports are weird. Especially when the team you are rooting for wins a game, but then you wonder, did you really want them to win because a successful summer is extremely vital

That exact confusion took place for Nets fans after the 101-94 win over the Toronto Raptors Thursday. The Raps are one of the few teams that can make Brooklyn look like a winning organization, having won only seven games to the Nets 11, but the lottery odds favor them at the moment. A win is a win though, not a loss, Right???

Tonight, the Nets will partake in another contest against Utah Jazz, another team that’s not enjoying the benefits of a winning season, but hoping good fortune will strike in the May lottery. After winning only two of their last 10 games, the 6-20 Jazz look like another opponent that can get in the way of the “year of the tank.” But players don’t tank, coaches don’t tank.

Where To Watch

Check out the action at 7:30 p.m. ET on the YES Network and NBA League Pass.

Injury Report

Bojan Bogdanovic, De’Anthony Melton, Cam Thomas, Ziaire Williams, and Trendon Watfrod are all out while Jaylen Martin and Dariq Whitehead are on Long Island duties.

For Utah, David Jones Garcia (G League), Taylor Hendricks (right fibula fracture), Oscar Tsheibwe (G League), and Micah Potter (G League) are all out. Keyonte George (ankle) is questionable.

The Game

No matter how much the organization is committed to their tank, Cam Johnson seems to always rise to and then above the occasion when he’s needed. In his 33-point outburst against the Raptors — 15 in the fourth, Johnson knocked down four of the team’s nine threes. He shot 4-of-10, the rest of the team … 5-of-29.

Johnson will be needed to provide offense for the Nets as it is looking like a pretty even, Fans will also be watching to see what Ben Simmons can do after he provided 12/5/7 on Thursday night. This week marked marked the first time Ben10 has scored in double-digits in consecutive games since October 2023. Can he continue to “get better every game” as CJ noted post-game? He will need to as the Nets continue to be short-handed.

With both teams both being outside of the top 10 on both sides of the ball, the Nets should not have any problems executing their offense for good looks. Utah is however getting better offensively and already has some solid young players, as James Hansen of SLC Dunk wrote in his game preview.

Utah is doing what most expected. However, the Jazz have to be careful because they are trending upwards when they need to solidify their spot in the draft. Keyonte George is getting better every game and continues to round out his game as a playmaker. Walker Kessler, who disappointed last year, is finally taking things to another level. Finally, Utah is getting an MIP-caliber season from John Collins, who is putting up a 50/40/89.5 season.

Of course, there’s Lauri Markkanen, the now 27-year-old Finn who remains ever reliable, averaging 19.0 points, 6.6 rebounds and shooting 45/38/88. There are reports he is on the trade block, but that seems counter-productive.

Player to Watch: Keyonte George

The Jazz so have a promising young player, 24-year-old Keyonte George, who is averaging 16 points a game on not so great shooting percentages (under 40% from the field and less than 35% from three.) George can score it on all three levels as well as be a highlight reel when motivated as this TikTok from the Pistons game two nights ago showed.

The 6’4”, 21-year-old point guard can provide a nice scoring spark for the Jazz if they ever grow cold throughout the game.

From the Vault

Every franchise has a moment that will live forever in controversy. For the Yankees, it was the Brooklyn Dodgers Jackie Robinson stealing home in the 1995 World Series. The umpire ruled that Robinson escaped Yogi Berra’s tag. For years afterwards, whenever Rachel Robinson, Jackie’s widow (now 102 years old) would see Yogi at an event, she would smile and say “safe.” He would counter with his own smile and say, “out.”

In Utah, every fan knows that Michael Jordan pushed off against Byron Russell in the final seconds of Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals, but again, the ref saw it otherwise. No call and the MJ’s mid-range went in, winning not just the game but the NBA title. Watch it for yourself.

More reading: SLC Dunk and SB Nation NBA