Lakers at Jazz tonight - first road game for a 2-0 Lakers team, real test or comfortable win?
The Lakers visit Utah tonight at 5pm ET for their first road game of the season, sitting 2-0 after home wins over Golden State and the Clippers. The hook everyone keeps mentioning is Walker Kessler going back to Utah, where he used to play, and he has been huge so far at 24 points a game early. Utah is 1-1, Jusuf Nurkic is out, and the Lakers swept the season series last year. On paper this looks like a Lakers win, but first road games in Salt Lake City are never simple, and Utah likes to push the pace with young legs. For people watching the early season: is tonight a real test of whether this Lakers start is real, or just a game they should handle? What are you actually watching for?
1 answer
- Kessler on the glass decides it
I am watching the glass, not the score. Kessler is averaging 24 points early and he knows every Utah tendency, and with Nurkic out the Jazz have nobody who can really body him for a full game. If Utah cannot keep him off the offensive boards, the Lakers get second chances all night and the road crowd stuff never matters. My call is Lakers by single digits, and the box score to check afterward is offensive rebounds.