The Utah Jazz will be back in action on Friday night in Salt Lake City when they host the Phoenix Suns, but good luck guessing what will happen on the Delta Center court.
If NBA games were capable of causing whiplash, a lot of Jazz fans would be in neck braces after watching what their team did on the road last week.
Utah followed a 27-point loss at Oklahoma City last Tuesday with a jaw-dropping 141-99 blowout victory at Portland on Friday. But the pendulum then swung dramatically back the other direction on Sunday in Sacramento, when the Jazz allowed the Kings to score 141 points while they only put up 97.
“Yeah,” Jazz coach Will Hardy said after the setback in Sacramento, “we got our butts kicked.”
Utah makes a quick, one-game pitstop at home against the Suns having lost six of seven and 10 of 12. The Jazz then head out for a five-game holiday trek that has them traveling from Los Angeles to face the Clippers to Detroit, Brooklyn, Cleveland and back to Portland from Dec. 16-26.
The Jazz will have to do much better on both ends than they did against the Kings to be competitive in this rough stretch. Sacramento shot 22 of 44 from 3-point range, while Utah made only 38.8 percent of its shots overall.
The result wasn’t pretty.
“That’s the way the NBA can feel now,” Hardy said. “Games can feel crazy when teams get hot shooting the ball from kind of everywhere.”
Though neither made significant contributions in the blowout loss, Lauri Markkanen and Kyle Filipowski did return for the Jazz, so their presence could make a difference during this upcoming trek.
Keyonte George had a strong game against the Kings, scoring 25 points on 8-of-14 shooting with six assists and four steals. Johnny Juzang scored a season-high 22 in the win at Portland.
“We are in this space of guys being in and out, and it’s tough for young players to find continuity,” Hardy said. “I think for any team to find a level and sustain we do need to have continuity.”
The Suns wrap up a cross-country, four-game road trip with their second visit to Utah this season. They won 120-112 on Nov. 12.
Phoenix has struggled on its trip, falling at New Orleans, Miami and Orlando, and finds itself closer to the bottom of the Western Conference standings than the top.
Getting Kevin Durant back from a left ankle injury, which could happen as soon as Friday, would provide a big lift. They are 8-2 this season when Durant teams up with fellow stars Devin Booker and Bradley Beal, but 1-9 when Durant is sidelined.
Durant, who has missed the last three games and 12 overall this season, is Phoenix’s leading scorer (25.8 points per game), followed by Booker (24.9) and Beal (17.8).
“You try to put importance on every segment of the season,” Suns center Mason Plumlee said. “Just being fully healthy, having everybody, it’d be nice to get rolling and string some wins together. Those stretches can be meaningful. It does bring out a sense of identity if you’re able to put some wins together.”
