Jazz vs Bulls Preview – Game 2 of 2

It feels like the Jazz haven’t played a game in weeks. Saturday’s home win against the Clippers was nice psychologically. I’m interested to see if their new-found road success can continue. The Jazz still aren’t respected as a road foe, even by computers. The AccuScore prediction is calling a win for the Bulls, but I’m calling a win for the Jazz. See how easy that was?

From the ESPN Preview:

Mehmet Okur had a game-high 27 points against the Clippers to lead the Jazz to their third win in four games. Utah’s offense has keyed this stretch, averaging 118.7 points in those victories.

The Jazz had a similar impressive offensive display in their first meeting of the season with the Bulls, a 105-86 home win Nov. 26. Utah shot 60.8 percent, as Carlos Boozer had 28 points on 12 of 14 shooting, while Deron Williams scored 21 on 9 of 11 from the field.

Utah has lost four of five at the United Center, but the Bulls (31-31) have been scuffling lately.
After winning six of seven to move into sixth place in the East, Chicago has dropped four in a row and now has just a half-game lead over ninth-place Charlotte for the conference’s final playoff spot.

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Observations from the legendary C33:

It’s been a season of runs for Chicago. A loss tonight would mark the second five-game losing streak of the season, matching their season high. Their season-high win streak is also five.

Some thoughts:

• Would a loss tonight put coach Vinnie Del Negro back on the hot seat?
• Bulls forward Luol Deng has been playing pretty well, but like the Bulls, can be streaky. Which Luol shows up tonight? He torched the Jazz in SLC back in November with 26 pts and 4 stls.
• Taj Gibson is a beast, grabbing double-digit rebounds in 6 of his last 11 outings.
• Chicago is fighting for a playoff spot in the East. After five straight losses, they have to be hungry for a win. If Utah coasts and waits until the fourth quarter it will set a poor tone for the rest of the trip. A slow start for the Jazz tonight could mean a long game, ending with a lot of long faces.