The homestand continues with the first meeting against the Miami Heat, as the Jazz welcome them to the Delta Center. Last year, the record was split 1-1 between the two groups, both of them winning on the road. After Utah’s collapse on Thursday night, they could probably afford an extra win or two without concern of moving up in the lottery. If you asked a Jazz fan about their thoughts on the team’s play, their answer would generally fall under the answer of “𓀀 𓁐 𓁛 𓁼 𓄿”. One night, the Jazz are
beating two of the top three teams in the NBA, the next night they’re losing by the largest margin in Salt Lake City history to the Charlotte Hornets — wow, that actually happened.
It feels like ever since the Jazz reached the midpoint junction, they finally started to value the art of le réservoir; a masterful tanking machine at the expense of every veteran who is decently good at basketball. Just a little tankathon weather forecast for you all…
The Heat sit firmly at the median 15th mark in the race, meaning they probably need this win more than we do. Which is why it makes sense that the Jazz frontcourt of Lauri and Nurkic have both been listed with mystery illnesses that the Jazz may or may not be taking advantage of. Though the Heat themselves will be missing big man Kel’el Ware and All-Star Tyler Herro, so it pretty much evens out the talent when compared to the Bosnian Beast. They’ve had a consistent struggle to stay above the .500 mark, though this somehow fits into Pat Riley’s master plan in the 2027 offseason. They’ve posted a 3-5 record since January 12th and have posted a bottom-five defensive rating (118.4) during that stretch.
So all eyes turn to Bam Adebayo — who scored 22+ points in five of his last six games, including 25+ points in four of those matchups. He’s crossing a very thin line to his fourth All-Star appearance (oh how I envy that we’re a Western Conference team). If the Jazz are to be without Nurkic, then it’s guaranteed to be a five-star meal from him. The Jazz just aren’t as strong or physical with Filipowski or Hendricks at the five.
If you’ve turned on a Heat game this season, you’ve probably noticed all five players spaced out, running down in transition and playing a one-on-one style of basketball. That’s because they’ve limited their pick and roll possessions to 2.4 a game: the lowest in the league by a -1.8 margin from the 29th least. This allows them to play at a very high pace, with the average number of seconds per possession at just 12.6. Their offensive effectiveness will pose a significant threat to the Jazz, who’ll allow just about anyone to score on them — teams make an average of 45.5 field goals against them, putting them at the bottom of the NBA. Utah’s had short stints where they’ve looked like they could hold their own defensively. Tonight will be a major testament.
Though if Lauri and Nurkic are going to miss this one, the Jazz will need a key contributor on the offense besides Keyonte to toughen through. They’re 1-10 on the season when Lauri Markkanen is absent. That single win was when Keyonte had to score 43 on 28 shots just to beat the Wolves at home by 5. In fact, outside of Keyonte, Sensabaugh has been the only Jazzman to score 26+ points when Markkanen is out.
But hey, maybe Ace Bailey and Cody Williams cool dunks will be enough to fend them off.
Injury Report
Jazz:
QUESTIONABLE – Lauri Markkanen (illness)
DOUBTFUL – Jusuf Nurkic (illness)
OUT – Kevin Love (left knee contusion), Georges Niang (left foot, fourth metatarsal stress reaction), Walker Kessler (left shoulder surgery)
Heat:
QUESTIONABLE – Norman Powell (low back tightness), Davion Mitchell (left shoulder sprain)
OUT – Tyler Herro (toe and rib contusions), Kel’el Ware (right hamstring strain), Terry Rozier (not with team)
How to watch:
Who: Utah Jazz (15-30) vs. Miami Heat (23-22)
When: January 24th, 7:30PM Mountain Time
Where: Delta Center, Salt Lake City
Channel: Jazz+, KJZZ
