The Portland Trail Blazers and Utah Jazz meet for the second time this season Monday night at the Moda Center.
The Blazers got the best of the Jazz on October 29th, winning a 136-134 nail-biter in Salt
Lake City. Portland nearly squandered a big fourth quarter lead, but held on thanks to clutch late-game play from Jrue Holiday.
By NBA season standards, that win was a long time ago. Holiday starred with 27 points, Blake Wesley hounded opposing ballhandlers, and Matisse Thybulle had a pair of steals before suffering the thumb injury that has kept him out of action since.
None of those players will be available for the Blazers as they try to stay undefeated in 2026.
Let’s take a closer look at tonight’s matchup.
The Blazers Report
The Blazers are back home after a successful 2-1 road trip. They have won four of their past five games to climb into ninth place in the Western Conference and will look to add more wins during the four-game homestand that starts tonight.
The Jazz Report
The Jazz have lost three straight games and arrive in Portland with a 12-22 record, good for 13th place in the Western Conference. Like the Blazers, though, they have shown that they can compete with anybody on any given night, notching impressive recent wins over Detroit at home on Dec. 26th and San Antonio on the road on Dec. 27th.
What you need to Know
Portland Trail Blazers (16-20) vs. Utah Jazz (12-22) – Mon. Jan. 5th – 7:00pm Pacific
How to watch via antenna or cable: See your options on the Rip City Television Network.
How to watch via streaming: BlazerVision in Oregon and Washington; League Pass everywhere else
How to listen: Rip City Radio 620AM
Trail Blazers Injuries: Scoot Henderson, Damian Lillard, Matisse Thybulle, Blake Wesley, Jrue Holiday, Jerami Grant (Out); Robert Williams III (Questionable).
Jazz Injuries: Walker Kessler, Elijah Harkless, Georges Niang, Kevin Love, John Tonje (Out); Jusuf Nurkic, Ace Bailey (Questionable).
Jazz SB Nation Affiliate: SLC Dunk
What to Watch For:
Deni Avdija’s Workload. Avdija has been outstanding and his ascent to stardom has been the biggest non-FBI-related story of the Blazers’ season.
Avdija does a lot of heavy lifting for the Blazers and the workload may finally be taking a toll. He has played in every game, leading the entire NBA in total minutes played (1,272.5).
Avdija’s minutes have steadily grown as the season has progressed:
- October (6 games): 32.4 minutes per game
- November (14 games): 34.8 minutes per game
- December (14 games): 36.7 minutes per game
- January (2 games): 38.6 minutes per game
On top of that, he plays a very physical brand of basketball and his 353 total free throw attempts are also tops in the league.
Over his last eight games, Avdija has seen a drop-off in free throw shooting, particularly late in games. During that stretch, he is shooting 79.4% (31-39) on free throws in the first half, but just 61.9% (26-42) in the second half.
When Avdija rests, can the Blazers manage to at least tread water against the Jazz?
Caleb Love’s recent play. Is Love just on a hot streak? Is he becoming a consistently impactful NBA role player? Is he a future star?
Over his past seven games, the 24-year-old rookie is playing nearly 30 minutes per night. During that stretch, he has averaged 17.3 points, while shooting 43.5% on 8.9 three-point attempts per game. That’s big-time production for a player that went undrafted in 2025.
But it isn’t just that the shots are falling in recent games. He’s doing a lot more than simply catching kickout passes and launching threes. With so many players missing time, Love has become a valuable piece of the Blazers’ offense, playing critical minutes in close games, and providing much-needed ballhandling and offensive creation when Avdija rests or sees double teams.
No Utah Love. Lake Oswego native Kevin Love (no relation to Caleb) is officially listed as out for Monday night’s game. Now in his 18th season, Love has played in 20 of Utah’s 34 games (2 starts), scoring 7.2 points per game.
Love seems to enjoy playing against his hometown team. In 28 career games against the Blazers, he has averaged 17.8 points per game, tied for his third-highest average against any opponent.
Offensive Fireworks. The Jazz can score in bunches. They are seventh in the NBA in points per game at 119.7 and play at the fourth-fastest pace. They rank second in assists per game (30) behind an offense that makes heavy use of off-ball screens, cutting, player movement, and passing.
Lauri Markkanen is one of the game’s elite shooters. His 27.9 points per game ranks 11th in the league. Markkanen is supported by third-year guard Keyonte George, who is in the midst of a breakout season, averaging 24.5 points and 6.9 assists per game.
The problem for the Jazz is their defense, which has sunk to last place in the league rankings. No team allows more points or three-pointers than the Jazz. Expect both teams to light up the scoreboard in this one.
What Others are Saying:
If the Jazz get a top-eight pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, they keep it. If their pick falls outside of the top eight, they owe it the already-loaded Oklahoma City Thunder. With that in mind, James Hansen from SB Nation Affiliate SLC Dunk believes that the Jazz should tank again:
Yes, it would be nice to win some games and maybe even push for the play-in. But Utah would then miss out on another piece to build around this young core. Making sure they keep their pick will lead to the “longer-term rewards.” If Utah keeps their pick, and maybe for once gets lucky come lottery night, they would have a core truly capable of building towards championship contention.
