Game Preview: Lakers vs Jazz – 8/3/2020
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Los Angeles Lakers (50-15) | Utah Jazz (42-24)
The Los Angeles Lakers play their third game of the eight-game NBA season restart against the Utah Jazz tonight at 6:00 pm PST. Tonight’s game follows the Lakers’ atrocious 92-107 loss against the Toronto Raptors.
That was a terrible shooting night for the Lakers as they shot 35.4 percent from the floor and 25 percent from three-point range. This game will see the Lakers make a few adjustments and prove they’ve still got it regardless of their pretty secure spot in first place. They will look to better their shots this game by prioritizing ball movement to get players open and by running plays that will hopefully result in better shot selections.
Expect Anthony Davis to make up for last game’s not-so-stellar performance. He shot 2 for seven off the floor, so even though Rudy Gobert will be clogging the paint, Davis will be a bully in there. He’s coming into this game set to remind any detractors he is still the elite talent that will help the Lakers win the Chip. The Lakers are second in the league in points-per-game in the paint, and coming off of a loss will give Davis a mindset of revenge.
Danny Green also needs a do-over.
He was 0 for seven against the Raptors. Six of those shots came from beyond the arch. This will most likely result in a solid game for Green since they will prioritize creating better chances for him, and he is statistically the best three-point shooter in their starting lineup. Part of improving shot quality is having the most reliable person take the shots, and that would be Green for the Lakers. He shoots 37 percent from beyond the arch this season, meaning he is bound to do better.
The fact that the Raptors have allowed the least points per game this year contributed to Green’s difficulty in getting a quality shot off. Green is bound to have a solid performance against the Jazz as the statistics say he should. He will keep his usual playing style of mainly shooting threes since he is typically excellent at that role. He just had a bad game.
Another player that did little to help the Lakers against the Raptors was Markieff Morris, who was 3 for ten shooting. This game will most likely see him taking fewer shots since other players that are more consistent at scoring off the bench should be taking and making those shots. Alex Caruso shoots 42.1 percent from the floor this season compared to Morris’ 37 percent. Part of improving shot quality is having the most reliable people taking the shot, and Morris is not one of them.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was 2 for seven in the previous game, but he should not be expected to change much coming into this game. He typically attempts 7.4 shots per game and averages 25 minutes, and he will play the same against the Jazz. He just had one bad game. The Lakers also need to work on their turnovers by prioritizing ball control with smarter passes.
The Lakers have a secure spot in first and the Jazz are currently tied for 5th with the Houston Rockets, one game above the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The one motivating factor for the Jazz is that they need this victory more, but since the Lakers will want to make up for their loss, that won’t matter much. The Jazz don’t have the defense like the Raptors do to affect LeBron James. He still had a good game and was productive against the Raptors, so one can only imagine what he will do when looking for revenge against a Jazz team with worse defense. Donovan Mitchell will be out to prove himself after a 33 percent shooting performance against the Thunder, but I doubt that he is as keyed-in on a Chip as James, so that shouldn’t be much of a problem for the Lakers.
The Lakers are a six-point favorite in this one, it is safe to say they will prove there is nothing wrong and safely cover. The game can be seen on ESPN with tip-off slated for 6 pm. Franchise Sports Media will have your highlights and recap covered shortly after the game.
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-Kyle Randolph – Franchise Sports Media
Twitter- KyleRandolphFSM
