Did anyone else have a good Tuesday afternoon? What did you say? ██ ███████ dropping █ points? I have no idea what you’re implying. You’re speaking nonsense. Over here, we’re only focused on things that are actually real and matter, such as Utah staying inside the top five so they can have the best chance at keeping their pick. And that mindset begins tonight, as the third-seeded Knicks come to town looking to create some separation between them and the lower dwellers in the East. Albeit I did crack
a smile at seeing Blake Hinson hit a dagger shot over Draymond Green Monday night, that win crossed some dangerous territory for Utah; the chosen children Mavs are only one game behind the Jazz in the Tankathon standings. As we all know, they are the most deserving of AJ Dybantsa after only being in the finals a pitiful two years ago.
It’s a perilous trajectory for Utah, considering the rebuild has yielded only one top-five pick and a couple of late lottery picks. Now they must call a forfeit against a cold-streaking Knicks team that has dropped three of their last four matches. New York has practically been playing on dead legs after playing 12 playoff contenders in their last 16 games. And they’ve mirrored a lot of the Jazz’s mistakes — during that stretch, they’ve recorded a higher turnover percentage (16.1%) than the founding fathers of poor ball security, as well as 33.6% three-point percentage that ranks 22nd in the league.
This is a team that threw in all their future chips for Mikal Bridges, who is literally being played off the floor by rookies. He’s been the weakest link of the Nova Knicks trio, scoring his fewest points per game since 2022 (15.2). They may chow down on the actively trying to lose each possession Jazz if they’d like, none of this concerns the front office, who have been throwing out lineups composed of guys on two-way contracts and guys fighting for their next contract.
Case in point, Monday night in the Delta Center, where the closing lineup consisted of Cody Williams, Elijah Harkless, John Konchar, Blake Hinson and Kyle Filipowski. Keyonte George played through two and a half quarters before unfortunately falling ill to cholera. Brice Sensabaugh had 21 points through three quarters before stubbing his pinky toe while walking back to the bench.
But what all eyes are actually falling on is the return of The Flamethrower. JC. Sixx. Manila Man. All the nicknames I could find online. Jordan Clarkson is welcomed home in the Delta Center for the first time since his departure in the offseason. We saw a glimpse of him in the Knicks orange when the Jazz visited them back in December, but now it’s really gonna hit home Though he’s been shackled to the Knicks bench, rarely playing over 10 minutes a game, Mike Brown would be a cruel and sickened man not to give him extended runtime against the city that embraced him with open arms for over six years.
The Knicks are going to hilariously beat them down, or at least in theory — no one is sure what Blake Hinson is capable of as of this moment. The Jazz are once again going to see how long they can get away with using the illness label on any player capable of contributing more than a single win share. Keyonte gets hit with a big fat questionable on the injury report, John Konchar is uncertain with left calf soreness, but Ace and Collier rejoin the team.
ESPN gives the Jazz a 13.5% chance to win. That’s a little higher than what I’m comfortable with, but one man’s toxic sludge is another man’s potpourri. It’s tough to say out loud that your team needs to be as bad as possible, but this is more about future survival in a brutal Western Conference than anything else.
Injury Report
Jazz:
QUESTIONABLE – Keyonte George (illness), John Konchar (left calf soreness)
OUT – Lauri Markkanen (right hip impingement), Jusuf Nurkic (nose surgery), Jaren Jackson Jr. (left knee surgery), Walker Kessler (left shoulder surgery)
Knicks:
QUESTIONABLE – Josh Hart (left knee soreness)
OUT – Miles McBride (hernia surgery)
How to watch:
Who: Utah Jazz (20-45) vs. New York Knicks (41-25
When: March 11th, 6:00PM Mountain Time
Where: Delta Center, Salt Lake City
Channel: Peacock, Jazz+, KJZZ
Radio: 97.5/1280 The Zone
