The Utah Jazz (39-39) returned to practice today as they prepare to take on the Los Angeles Clippers (50-28) Friday night at Vivint Smart Home Arena at 7:00 PM. The Jazz are coming off of a tough loss on Tuesday when they fell to the San Antonio Spurs by 2 points at home. The Jazz remain in a tight playoff race in the west as they trail the Dallas Mavericks (40-38) by 1 game for the 7th seed in the conference. The Jazz lead the Houston Rockets (38-40) by a game who are in 9th place in the west.
The Clippers will be without Blake Griffin on Friday as he is not traveling with the team. The Clippers may also rest Chris Paul, J.J. Reddick, and DeAndre Jordan. If that is the case, this is a game that the Jazz will need to win. They have to take advantage of this opportunity. The Jazz and Clippers split the first two meetings of the year.
Utah Jazz guard Alec Burks participated at practice today and is listed as questionable for Friday night’s game. Burks has been out with a broken left fibula since December 26 when the Jazz took on the Clippers. Burks has appeared in 28 games this season where he has averaged 14.3 points per game.
The media caught up with Utah Jazz Head Coach Quin Snyder after practice today. Snyder started off talking about Hall of Fame Head Coach Jerry Sloan who has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and Lewy body dementia. Here is that audio:
Utah Jazz forward Gordon Hayward is the only remaining play on the Jazz who played for Jerry Sloan while he coached the team. Here is Hayward with the media today after practice:
