The Utah Jazz (36-37) welcome in Kobe Bryant for the final time tonight to Vivint Smart Home Arena at 7:00 PM, as the Jazz take on the Los Angeles Lakers (15-58). The Utah Jazz face another must win as they try to stay in the playoff picture. They currently are 7th in the Western Conference standings. They trail the Portland Trail Blazers (38-36) by 1.5 games for the 6th spot but only lead the Houston Rockets (36-38) by a half game. The Dallas Mavericks (35-38) are in the 9th position, 1 game behind the Jazz. The Mavericks are in Denver tonight as they take on the Nuggets at 7:00 PM. The Portland Trail Blazers host the Sacramento Kings at 8:00 PM.
Here is Utah Jazz Head Coach Quin Snyder with the media following shoot around:
The Jazz are returning home after their 5-game road trip. The Jazz went 3-2 on the trip and have won 7 out of their last 9. The Lakers come into the game losers of 3 straight and 7 out of their last 8. The Jazz won their previous 2 meetings against the Lakers this season. The 2 teams will match up one more time on April 13 at Staples Center in the final game of the season.
The media was able to catch up with Gordon Hayward after shoot around today. He continues to lead the team in scoring at 19.7 points per game. He will need to continue to play well as the regular season comes to a close in the next few weeks if the Jazz want to remain in the playoff picture. Here is the audio of Gordon Hayward with the media
Utah Jazz Center Rudy Gobert talked with the media after shoot around today as well. Here is that audio:
