Lakers at Jazz
The Utah Jazz experienced offensive issues during a two-game road swing and look for improvement Saturday when they face the Los Angeles Lakers in the opener of a four-game homestand. Utah averaged only 86 points in losses to the Los Angeles Clippers and Phoenix Suns and was especially inept while committing 24 turnovers in Wednesday's 97-88 setback to the Suns.
The Jazz got off on the wrong foot when they tallied just 13 first-quarter points against Phoenix and the sloppy miscues sabotaged any chance of staging a legitimate comeback. "We've had some costly turnovers, but we're in position to make plays, and some of the other stuff is fixable," Jazz forward Derrick Favors told reporters. "We just have to clean some things up on the offensive end." Los Angeles matched its season low for points in Friday's 101-92 setback to the Toronto Raptors. Backup power forward Julius Randle scored a season-high 18 points and is 16-of-21 from the field over the past three games.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, Spectrum SportsNet (Los Angeles), AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain (Utah)
ABOUT THE LAKERS (2-3): Rookie point guard Lonzo Ball didn't have much fun on birthday No. 20 as he had five points on 2-of-7 shooting in 32 minutes to drop to 7-of-31 from the field over the past three games. Outside of a 29-point performance against Phoenix, Ball has scored in single digits in each of the other four games and he took part of the blame for his squad being outscored by 15 points in the second half against Toronto. "We lost our intensity, to be honest," Ball said afterward. "We gave up a lot of fast-break points. People not getting back. We were just ball-watching. I'm supposed to be back, I'm the point guard. Sometimes I go crash (the boards) and I'm supposed to be going back."
ABOUT THE JAZZ (2-3): Shooting guard Rodney Hood returned from a two-game absence due to a calf injury to score 22 points against Phoenix, his second 20-point outing in three games. Hood is being counted on to help account for the scoring slack caused by the departure of All-Star forward Gordon Hayward as a free agent in the offseason, and was disappointed in the club's showing versus the Suns. "We have to get more connected," Hood told reporters. "We're still getting familiar with each other and getting to know each other on the floor. We've showed flashes of being a good offense, we just have to make it consistent, but taking care of the ball is our biggest priority."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Jazz went 4-0 against the Lakers last season and have won eight of the past nine meetings.
2. Los Angeles rookie F Kyle Kuzma, who has scored 15 or more points in each of the past four games, played collegiately at Utah.
3. Utah rookie G Donovan Mitchell has scored two points on 1-of-7 shooting in three of his first five NBA games.