The Utah Jazz (16-29) go up against the Los Angeles Clippers (31-14) tonight at EnergySolutions Arena at 7:00 PM. The Jazz will be looking for their first win against the Clippers this season. The Clippers are going for their 13th consecutive win overall against the Jazz. The Clippers are 11-7 away from home and won their only three games on the road so far this month. The Jazz are 8-13 at home after losing to the Boston Celtics on Monday.
The Jazz won’t have an easy matchup against the Clippers as the Clippers are a high-scoring team and like to run. The Jazz will need to play solid defense if they want to have any kind of a chance tonight. They can’t give up too many turnovers as the Clippers will take advantage of their extra possessions.
Gordon Hayward, Derrick Favors, and Dante Exum need to have big nights for the Jazz. Trey Burke needs to have another solid game off the bench as he will be leading the second team. If the Jazz can play like they did in the 3rd quarter on Monday they have a chance. It will be interesting to see if the Jazz can step up their game tonight as they go up against one of the elite teams of the West.
Here is Utah Jazz Head Coach Quin Snyder with the media following shoot around this morning:
The media also talked with Point Guard Trey Burke. Here is that audio:
The Utah Jazz announced today that the team has signed forward Chris Johnson of the NBA Development League’s Rio Grande Valley Vipers to a 10-day contract. Johnson becomes the NBA’s 24th overall NBA D-League Call-Up of the 2014-15 season and the 22nd different player to be called up. Per team policy, financial terms were not released. Following the move, the Jazz roster now stands at 15 players. Johnson becomes the 15th D-League Call-Up in Jazz history, and the fourth this season. He will wear uniform #23 for the Jazz.
The 24-year-old Johnson (6-6, 201, Dayton) appeared in 14 games (all starts) for the Vipers this season, averaging 20.1 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.8 steals in 35.3 minutes per contest. He scored in double figures on 13 occasions and recorded 20-plus points in eight games, including one 30-point contest. He started the 2014-15 season with the Philadelphia 76ers, averaging 6.0 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.0 steals in 20.8 minutes while scoring in double figures twice in nine games (two starts), before being waived on Nov. 15.
Johnson has spent portions of three seasons with the 76ers (2014-15), Boston Celtics (2013-14) and Memphis Grizzlies (2012-13), appearing in 57 NBA games (two starts) and owns averages of 5.8 points and 2.4 rebounds in 18.9 minutes per game and has scored in double figures 12 times. He has also appeared in 73 D-League games (58 starts) over three seasons for Rio Grande Valley, holding averages of 14.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.6 steals in 31.4 minutes. He was a member of the Vipers’ 2013 D-League Championship team, a 2014 NBA D-League All-Star selection and was recently named to the 2015 NBA D-League Showcase Second Team.
A native of Columbus, Ohio, Johnson played four seasons at Dayton (2008-12), where he earned Atlantic 10 All-Championship Team honors following his junior season and was the 2010 Atlantic 10 Most Improved Player recipient and helped lead the Flyers to a 2010 NIT championship. He was not selected in the 2012 NBA Draft.
Here is Chris Johnson with the media following shoot around today:
