Preview: Utah Jazz skip over to MSG for a road duel vs Knicks

The Utah Jazz are about to own the entire state of New York. Evacuate the city.

Summarized by AI ⓘ

What is the story about?

Ba ba badada
Ba ba badada
Ba ba badada BAH
Start spreadin’ the news…. [ba badada ba]
For the second straight day…. [ba badada ba]
They faced the Nets, and then the Knicks
New York, New York!

That’s right, the juggernaut Utah Jazz — winners of two straight against Houston and Brooklyn — are trotting from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn to the core of the Big Apple: Madison Square Garden. Utah has no interest in losing basketball games anymore; they have matured. Now the Jazz are cool enough to listen

to Green Day, play Halo, and drink caffeinated sodas. Ugh, parents are so lame. Totally.

The owners of the NBA’s worst record and best lottery odds in the Spring and Summer have evolved to a scrappy, feisty 8-13 Play-In contender in the Western Conference. Utah are winners in three of their last four appearances, Lauri Markkanen is hooping like his All-Starkkanen alter-ego. Keyonte George was bitten by a radioactive Trae Young and regularly puts up 25+ point games with a healthy dose of assists to pair. Kyle Anderson is an unstoppable defensive force. Cody Williams remains on the bench. Suddenly, this is a team with no apparent weaknesses (don’t look at their defensive numbers. Don’t you do that); they’re winning basketball games at a regular clip.

Next on the chopping block are the hosting Knicks of New York. Unshackled since the departure of Coach of the Year, Tom Thibadeau, and re-shackled by Jordan Clarkson’s shot selection, the Knickerbockers are taking another shot at the NBA Finals this season behind their Villanova Big 3 on the perimeter and Karl-Anthony Towns anchoring the paint.

New York has lost just one of their 12 home games all season, and that was against the incomparable Franz Wagner, Desmond Bane-led Orlando Magic. Orlando, now that’s a team that makes me think of… um… er… It’s hard to say. I’ll think of something, I’m sure.

The point I mean to spin is this: New York defends their home court. No Rocky Mountain vagabonds are going to waltz onto their floor and win a basketball game against the 14-7 Knicks. ESPN gives New York a 90% chance to win. The odds favor the Knicks by over 15 points (at the time of publishing). Simply put, the Jazz do not stand a chance.

Nor did they stand a chance against Houston. The same goes for Boston. And Phoenix.

Here’s the bottom line: this is a basketball game that few will expect the Jazz to win. Against a championship contender, Will Hardy’s team is ill-equipped to compete. Keyonte George, enthralling as he may be, is no match for Jaylen Brunson. Ace Bailey has no answer for Mikael Bridges. Svi Mykhailiuk could take anybody — I’m not worried about Svi.

Utah and New York have not faced each other to this point in the season, and both will learn a bit more of their identity upon this battle’s conclusion.