Utah Returns Home To Start Six-Game Homestand | Utah Jazz

Returning home from a four-game east coast road trip, the Utah Jazz are a different team.

Not only did they take down Cleveland, Minnesota, Philadelphia, and Washington during the trip, the Jazz did so in impressive fashion.

After a one-point victory over a “very good” Cleveland team, according to Rudy Gay, to start the trip, the Jazz won their next three contests by an average of 26.3 points. It’s why head coach Quin Snyder gave a very pointed answer when asked about the team’s state following Utah’s victory over Washington on Saturday night.

“I think we’re a better team than we were when we left,” Snyder said.

The response was short, pointed, and blunt — but most of all, it was true.

Despite entering the road trip on a three-game winning streak, Utah’s visit to the east coast was going to be its most challenging stretch of the season thus far. Donovan Mitchell even admitted so, knowing that the past three wins weren’t going to be good enough if the Jazz wanted to emerge unscathed. 

“This road trip coming up is tough,” Mitchell said before leaving. “We’ve got to stay locked in and do what we do…but we’ve got to continue to pick it up.”

All four teams are currently playoff teams in their respective conferences. Cleveland is extraordinarily young and talented, Minnesota has always given Utah trouble, Philadelphia had Joel Embiid, and Washington had the best record of the bunch.

None of that mattered because Utah is one of the best teams in the league — and there’s no doubting that after proving it over the past nine days.

“It was just great growth for the team,” Jordan Clarkson said. “It’s been a whole team effort. It’s been a good road trip for us.”

pic.twitter.com/geSp7MTiwq

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) December 14, 2021

But now that road trip is over and the Jazz return home to the comfortable confines of Vivint Arena for a six-game homestand, ending with a Christmas night showdown with Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks.

Before that, Utah hosts the Los Angeles Clippers in a battle between two teams with the longest winning streaks in the league. The Jazz enter Wednesday’s showdown winners of seven straight while the Clippers have won four straight, most notably coming off a 16-point victory over Phoenix on Monday night.

While Los Angeles’ offense remains a work in progress, the defense has been its saving grace, holding two of its past four opponents to 95 points or less.

That defense will have its hands full against the top offense in the NBA. A battle of contrasting styles to be played out in front of a national audience, Wednesday should be a good one.

To purchase tickets for the showdown at 8 p.m. MST, click HERE.

Not bad.#TimeToLearn | @WGU pic.twitter.com/0criIEdCEc

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) December 14, 2021

STATS
Utah (19-7, 9-4 home / No. 3 Western Conference)
Offense
*115.3 Points Per Game (No. 1 in NBA)
*117.5 Offensive Rating (No. 1 in NBA)

Defense
*104.2 Points Per Game (No. 4 in NBA)
*106.2 Defensive Rating (No. 6 in NBA)

*Donovan Mitchell: 24.8 points / 5.0 assists / 3.8 rebounds / 1.7 steals
*Rudy Gobert: 15.1 points / 14.6 rebounds / 2.2 blocks / 73.4% shooting 
*Bojan Bogdanovic: 16.8 points / 3.9 rebounds / 40.3% 3P-territory
*Jordan Clarkson: 14.6 points / 3.1 rebounds / 2.1 assists / 24.8 minutes 

Los Angeles Clippers (16-12, 4-5 away / No. 5 Western Conference)
Offense
*106.2 Points Per Game (No. 19 in NBA)
*106.4 Offensive Rating (No. 25 in NBA)

Defense
*104.3 Points Per Game (No. 5 in NBA)
*104.7 Defensive Rating (No. 4 in NBA)

*Paul George: 25.0 points / 7.3 rebounds / 5.4 assists / 1.9 steals
*Reggie Jackson: 17.6 points / 4.0 assists / 3.5 rebounds
*Marcus Morris Sr.: 12.9points / 4.5 rebounds / 37.5% 3P-territory
*Luke Kennard: 11.4 points / 45.6% 3P-territory / 95% free throw line

MATCHUP TO WATCH
*Donovan Mitchell vs. Reggie Jackson
— Donovan Mitchell is one of the hottest players in the league, averaging 29.4 points on a 54/45/90 shooting split during the winning streak. His efficiency is unprecedented as the Jazz are dominating on both ends of the court, with Mitchell serving as the catalyst. With the status of all-NBA player Paul George unknown heading into Wednesday’s game, a lot of the offensive pressure for the Clippers will fall onto the shoulders of Reggie Jackson. This battle should be a good one.

still thinking about it.#SloMoPlay | @udo_llc pic.twitter.com/9LmlHLWA0Z

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) December 12, 2021

CAREER MILESTONES TO WATCH
*Joe Ingles — 4,977 points 
*Bojan Bogdanovic — 1,989 rebounds

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Time: 8 p.m. MST
Location: Vivint Arena / Salt Lake City, UT
TV: ESPN
Radio: 1280 The Zone