The Utah Jazz and Portland Trail Blazers face each other at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon on Oct. 25, Tuesday to begin their respective campaigns in the 2016-2017 NBA Season.
Start Time and Streaming Info
The game starts at 10:00 p.m. ET. It can be viewed live online thru the NBA League Pass.
Preview
Utah has not been in the playoffs for the last four years and they are still not expected to qualify this season. Head coach Quin Snyder's squad relied on their youth and Gordon Hayward in the last couple of seasons and both have not taken them anywhere near contending level.
With that in mind, the team has added three veterans during the offseason with Joe Johnson, Boris Diaw, and George Hill all joining them via free-agency and trades in July. With the addition of the three proven stars, the Jazz has become a lot stronger right now compared to the previous years.
However, Utah will begin the season with Hayward sidelined as he fractured the ring finger in his left hand during practice earlier this month. Aside from Hayward, key bench player Alex Burks is also out as he continued to recover from the surgery that repaired his fractured left fibula.
A good news for the Jazz is that starting power forward Derrick Favors is now cleared to play after missing training camp and the preseason to heal his knee problems. Diaw, who had been dealing with a right leg contusion is also cleared to suit up against the Blazers, as per the Deseret News.
Meanwhile, the Blazers are projected to advance to the playoffs for the fourth straight year this season. Some analysts even predict them to finish in the top four of the stacked Western Conference behind the Golden State Warriors, San Antonio Spurs, and Los Angeles Clippers.
Head coach Terry Stotts main weapons will continue to be his backcourt tandem of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum. Lillard is still the team's main man and is predicted to become an MVP candidate this year while McCollum seems to continue to improve from last season with his recent impressive performance during the preseason.
Portland added depth as they acquired Evan Turner and Festus Ezeli from the Celtics and Warriors during the summer, via Sports Chat Place. The team now is actually so deep that Coach Stotts is having a hard time balancing the playing time of his players and making all of them gets opportunities to shine.
Prediction
A lopsided victory for the Blazers as Lillard and company begin the season with a bang.